


\ 







COPYRIGHT DEJPOSm 

















THE 

PASTORAL OFFICE 


An Introduction to 
The Work of a Pastor 


By 

JAMES ALBERT BEEBE 

- * 

Dean and Professor of Practical Theology 
Boston University School of Theology 



9 


THE METHODIST BOOK CONCERN 

NBW YORK CINCINNATI 






Copyright, 1923, by 
JAMES ALBERT BEEBE 


All rights reserved, including that of translation into foreign 
languages, including the Scandinavian 



Printed in the United States of America 





N 

I 

O rO 






£ 


CHAPTER 

I. 

II. 

III. 

IV. 
V. 


VI. 

VII. 

VIII. 

IX. 


CONTENTS 

SECTION I 
WORSHIP 

PAGE 

The Significance of Worship. 9 

Ideals of Worship. 20 

Materials of Worship—Music. 36 

Materials of Worship—Prayers. 53 

Materials of Worship—Lessons, Announcements, 

Offering. 69 

Materials of Worship—Sermon and Benediction. . 76 

The Sunday Evening Service. 88 

Mid-Week Services. 94 

Liturgical Services. 102 


SECTION II 

ADMINISTRATION 

X. Importance of Organization. 117 

XI. Principles of Administration. 121 

XII. Plans of Organization. 133 

XIII. The Administration of Worship. 138 

XIV. The Administration of Evangelism. 142 

XV. The Administration of Religious Education. 158 

XVI. The Administration of Service—The Church Family 172 

XVII. The Administration of Service—The Local Com¬ 
munity. 180 

XVIII The Administration of Service—The World Com¬ 
munity. 203 

XIX. The Administration of Finance. 210 

XX. Church Records.220 

XXI. Church Publicity. 225 

XXII. Church Buildings. 231 

XXIII. The Church Survey. 236 


SECTION III 

PASTORAL RELATIONS 


XXIV. The Call to the Ministry. 245 

XXV. The Minister’s Study. 257 

XXVI. Pastoral Visiting. 273 

XXVII. Minor Ministerial Ethics. 291 





































FOREWORD 


No apology is made for the elementary character of this 
book. It is intended to be not the last but merely the first 
word spoken to young men contemplating a ministerial 
career, an “Introduction to the Work of a Pastor, 1 ” as its 
title declares. While it has been written primarily for min¬ 
isters of the Methodist Episcopal Church, it is hoped that 
much in the book will be valuable for a wider circle. 

Moreover, an introduction should be comprehensive as 
well as elementary, bringing into view the whole task rather 
than emphasizing disproportionately certain special phases. 
The writer has attempted to present a balanced statement 
of the entire work of the church and the methods to be 
employed, not in the exceptional, but in the average com¬ 
munity. Necessarily the treatment of each subject is brief. 

I have been encouraged in the task of composition by the 
Commission on Courses of Study, at whose invitation the 
writing was first begun. Individual members of the Com¬ 
mission have made valuable suggestions which have been 
incorporated into the volume. I am especially grateful to 
Bishop Edwin H. Hughes, D.D., LL.D.; Professor Harris 
Franklin Rail, Ph.D.; and Professor Lindsay B. Longacre, 
Ph.D., for having read parts of the manuscript, and to the 
Rev. Charles R. Bair, D.D., for detailed literary criticism of 
the entire composition. My debt is very large to nearly all 
the important contributions to the literature of this subject 
in English. I am grateful to the authors and titles men¬ 
tioned in footnotes, especially to Washington Gladden’s 
The Christian Pastor, which stands as the most impressive 
description of the work of the Protestant minister in more 
than a quarter of a century. The patience and kindness, 
however, of five churches which I have served as pastor, 

5 


6 


FOREWORD 


namely, Summerset, and Highland Park (Des Moines), 
Iowa; Newport, and Saint Paul’s (Manchester), New 
Hampshire; and Englewood, Chicago, have taught me more 
than many books. 


Boston, April I, 1923. 


J. A. B. 


SECTION I 


WORSHIP 







CHAPTER I 


THE SIGNIFICANCE OF WORSHIP 

Modern communities will support generously only those 
institutions which serve them in a large way. Can the 
church justify its appeal for maintenance on this ground? 
It conducts “services” indeed, but is this “service”? To 
feed the poor, find work for the unemployed, provide 
lunches for underfed school children is service. But most 
churches do little of this. They merely gather people to¬ 
gether for prayer, and praise, and instruction in religious 
subjects. And not a few arise to inquire if any vital need 
is met by such exercises. What can be said in reply to the 
charge that ministers and other religious workers are para¬ 
sites on society who live off the labor of others without 
contributing to the common supply of wealth? Clearly, we 
must be able to assure ourselves concerning the value of 
public worship. 

We may remark, in the first instance, that worship is 
a necessary expression of man’s sense of the Infinite. Given 
a belief in God, prayer is man’s instinctive response to that 
belief. And this belief is universal. “Go back as far as 
history extends and man is religious. . . . The pre-historic 
remains in Europe and elsewhere, as far as they prove any¬ 
thing, show man possessed of certain ideas and performing 
certain acts which give strong evidence of being religious.” 1 
Worship then appears inevitable. By the very constitution 
of their being men relate themselves to the invisible world 
of spirit and power which lies behind the temporal order. 
They provide for worship as naturally and instinctively as 
they provide for supplies of water and food. This was 
noted long ago by a pagan historian, Plutarch: “You will, 

x Edmund D. Soper, The Religions of Mankind, p. 27. 

9 



10 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


perchance, light upon cities without gates, without a thea¬ 
ter, and without a palace; but you will find no city without 
a temple. ,, “As the hart panteth after the waterbrooks, so 
panteth my soul after thee, O God,” is ever the cry of man 
famished for the Infinite. That an exceptional person here 
and there seldom expresses this hunger for God does not 
affect the general fact. He only emphasizes the normal by 
showing how far he varies from it. 

Again, reflect upon the value of worship as a method of 
renewing moral and spiritual forces. Who has not grown 
weary in well-doing? Who does not know what it means 
to have his margin of self-control grow perilously narrow? 
Who does not find his confidence weakening in the worth¬ 
whileness of his finest ideals? Who has not lost his appe¬ 
tite for life through the monotony of life? Above all, who 
does not know the experience of remorse for sin and moral 
failure? “The internal decay of the incentive of work, the 
drooping of the sails of ambition, the falling out of humor 
with one’s own humor”—this is a part of the history of 
every man’s inner life. And in searching for means of re¬ 
freshing the weary spirit we must reckon with worship. It 
is not the only device by which something of the joy and 
zest of life may be recovered. A vacation, a favorite book, 
the companionship of men and women, an evening at the 
concert, an afternoon on the golf course may give the de¬ 
sired variation in the daily routine which is needful to 
“restore the soul.” There are two defects, however, which 
make it impossible for these ever to take first rank as means 
of spiritual renewal. First, they are purely external aids. 
One who depends upon them exclusively soon loses all 
power to refresh himself from the springs of his own inner 
life. Pity that multitude who find it necessary always to 
go outside themselves for relaxation and excitement, and 
who, in the absence of accustomed pleasure, are not only 
cast down but also destroyed! Moreover, these restorative 
measures have little power to affect the supreme cause of 
spiritual fatigue— sin. They can only anaesthetize the 


THE SIGNIFICANCE OF WORSHIP 


ii 


troubled conscience by inducing a temporary forgetfulness. 
They are unable to remove permanently the sense of guilt, 
or create a consciousness of strength which will make vic¬ 
torious living possible in the future. 

But it is at precisely these points that worship attains 
to primacy among all other methods of recuperation. Its 
strength comes from within, and is independent of outward 
circumstances. One may not always be able to take a vaca¬ 
tion from his work, but he may always pray at his work. 
When changes on the outside cannot be effected by prayer, 
one may change his attitude on the inside so as to rest him¬ 
self while he works. And because he does it for himself 
he never becomes dependent upon outward aids. The great 
mystics affirm that worship will do all that friendship, 
amusement, food, medicine, or even sleep can accomplish 
for the refreshment of the spirit. Furthermore, it relieves 
the tension of overtaut nerves, not by inducing forgetful¬ 
ness, but by creating the sense of Another Presence, All- 
Loving and All-Strong, who has come to help us face the 
facts of life and energize our weakened wills. In prayer 
the sin-tortured soul is soothed by the conviction that sin 
is forgiven and by the assurance that in future conflicts he 
shall have power to overcome sin. In worship as in noth¬ 
ing else “a self hitherto divided and consciously wrong, in¬ 
ferior, and unhappy becomes unified and consciously right, 
superior, and happy in consequence of its firmer hold upon 
religious realities.” 2 Thus the greatest American psycholo¬ 
gist confirms the findings of an ancient prophet: “They that 
wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength” (Isa. 40. 31). 

Consider a third suggestion as to the value of worship. 
Men not only grow weary, but they become confused and 
lose their sense of direction. They require not only 
means of refreshing themselves but instruments for ascer¬ 
taining their moral and spiritual bearings. The line be- 

2 William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience, p. 189. 
Reprinted by permission of Longmans, Green & Co. 



12 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


tween virtue and vice is very faint on occasion. A tech¬ 
nique is in demand for sharpening such lines. Worship 
proves competent for this. Everyone who prays knows 
what it means to have a perplexed mind become quiet and 
assured in the act of prayer, forming judgments, reaching 
conclusions, taking new points of view as one worships. 
The writer of Ephesians had this in mind when he prayed 
“that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, 
may give unto you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the 
knowledge of him” (i. 17). A distinguished American 
physician understands it who affirms that to pray is to do 
what the woodsman does, who, uncertain of his where¬ 
abouts, climbs the highest tree to take a look around. 3 
The mystics uniformly describe an experience which they 
call “the illumination of the soul” in which the ordinary 
powers of perception are heightened and insights deepened. 
Psychologists may refer all this to the “unconscious mind” 
out of which suggestion is supposed to come when the nerv¬ 
ous system is relaxed. This does not satisfy the true mys¬ 
tics, however, who are philosophers in search of reality, 
and scientists describing their own states of mind, as well 
as devotees. They are convinced that the cause of these 
enlightening experiences does not lie wholly within them¬ 
selves. They have a feeling of “otherness.” “Another” in¬ 
structs, suggests, inspires, and guides. They are over¬ 
whelmingly sure that they have established communication 
with the Infinite Source of all life and being. The “un¬ 
conscious mind” cannot be more than the organ of the 
Holy Spirit. 

Mr. H. G. Wells is not accustomed to defend traditional 
views in religion. But on this matter he writes very much 
like Saint Paul. “Then, suddenly, in a little while, in his 
own time, God comes. This cardinal experience is an un¬ 
doubting, immediate sense of God. It is the attainment of 
an absolute certainty that one is not alone in oneself. It is 


3 R. C. Cabot, What Men Live By, p. 277. 



THE SIGNIFICANCE OF WORSHIP 


i3 


as if one were touched at every point by a being akin to one¬ 
self, sympathetic, beyond measure wiser, steadfast and 
pure in aim. It is complete and more intimate, but it is like 
standing side by side with and touching some one that we 
love dearly and trust completely. It is as if this being 
bridged a thousand misunderstandings and brought us in 
touch with a great multitude of other people. . . . The mo¬ 
ment may come while we are alone in the darkness, under 
the stars, or while we walk by ourselves or in a crowd, or 
while we sit and muse. It may come upon the sinking of a 
ship or in the tumult of battle. There is no saying when it 
may not come to us. But after it has come our lives are 
changed. God is with us and there is no more doubt of God. 
Thereafter one goes about the world like one who was lonely 
and has found a lover, like one who was perplexed and has 
found a solution. One is assured that there is a Power that 
fights with us and against the confusion and evil within us 
and without. There comes into the heart an essential and 
enduring happiness and courage.” 4 

Now, the experience of the mystic does not differ in kind 
from that of all who genuinely worship. It differs only in 
degree. Everyone is a mystic to whom God is consciously 
real as he prays. To worship is to go on a great adventure 
that brings up at last in the very presence of the Father, 
and in this adventure we acquire knowledge about God and 
our relation to him. 

Again, consider the contribution which worship may make 
toward the solution of our social problems. The most im¬ 
pressive fact about modern society is its high degree of 
“mutualism.” Never were men dependent upon each other 
as now. Professor Ross describes this condition accurately, 
if imaginatively: “Nowadays the water main is my well, 
the trolley car my carriage, the bankers’ safe my old stock¬ 
ing, the policeman’s billy my fist. My own eyes and nose 

‘Reprinted by permission of The Macmillan Company from H. G. 
Wells, God, the Invisible King, p. 23b The italics are the author’s. 



14 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


and judgment defer to the inspector of food, or drugs, or 
gas, or factories, or tenements, or insurance companies. I 
rely upon others to look after my drains, invest my savings, 
nurse my sick, and teach my children. I let the meat trust 
butcher my pigs, the oil trust mold my candles, the sugar 
trust boil my sorghum, the coal trust chop my wood, the 
barb-wire company split my rails.” 5 He might have added 
that we look to others for the opportunity of earning a living 
as men never have done before. For the first time in human 
history the tools of industry are too expensive for the work¬ 
ers to own, so that the man who uses the instruments of 
economic production must ask the privilege of others. On 
the whole, this interdependence of each upon all and all on 
each has greatly multiplied our comforts and increased our 
happiness. It has increased also the number of friction 
points and thereby the possibilities of misery. Men are in 
each other’s power and at each other’s mercy to a degree 
altogether unprecedented. This is the very essence of “the 
social problem.” 

Now, we may safely assume that our social organization 
will never be less intricate than at present. On the con¬ 
trary, it may become more complicated. The “solution of 
the social problem” obviously calls for a higher degree of 
intelligence to administer this complex social organization. 
More imagination and more technical knowledge will help 
us greatly. But chiefly we shall need more good will. Our 
confusion is due less to lack of knowledge than to lack of 
brotherliness. A little selfishness now may work greater 
hardship than much selfishness in a simpler social order. 
A method must be found to generate altruism, to increase 
the sense of brotherhood and obligation to our human kind. 
In the search for an agent to accomplish this spiritual trans¬ 
mutation, we find nothing more promising than worship. 
Humility, reverence, affection, kindliness are all essential 


5 E. A. Ross, Sin and Society, p. 3. Used by permission of 
Houghton Mifflin Company. 



THE SIGNIFICANCE OF WORSHIP 


15 


to the prayerful frame of mind. The mood of worship 
cannot tolerate any sentiment of ill will. To worship is 
to love. To admit any unsocial feeling while one prays is 
to dispel the worshiping mood. As a generator of altruism 
worship has the very greatest social significance. No one 
is doing more to promote the spirit of brotherhood and in¬ 
crease the available supply of social sympathy than he who 
induces his fellow men to pray. 

Yet again, consider the significance of worship for physi¬ 
cal health. The early history of the Christian Church is 
“permeated with a sense of conquest over sickness, disease, 
and moral ills of every kind.” Gibbon mentions “the mirac¬ 
ulous powers of the primitive church” as the third cause 
for the spread of Christianity—though personally he deemed 
it an unworthy cause. And while our theories of disease 
have changed radically, the history of the modern church 
supplies incontrovertible evidence of the therapeutic value 
of faith and prayer. Doctor McComb declares “that 
throughout later history the appearance of any great re¬ 
ligious personality synchronized with an outburst of heal¬ 
ing power. Francis of Assisi, Luther, George Fox, and 
John Wesley were not only great spiritual thinkers but 
also, by the strength of their faith, were able in certain 
cases to set up a powerful physical stimulus which resulted 
in the restoration of health to the sufferers; and whenever 
there has been a revival of religious life it has been accom¬ 
panied by a more abundant sense of well-being both in soul 
and body.” 6 

The explanation which modem psychology gives of the 
process of psychical healing is entirely acceptable to ortho¬ 
dox believers both in medicine and religion. Mind and 
body are one. Their relation is so intimate that each re¬ 
acts upon the other definitely and promptly. Physical con¬ 
ditions affect the mind, and mental states in turn influence 
the body. Anxiety, worry, grief, fear, anger interfere with 

®Worcester, McComb, Coriat, Religion and Medicine, p. 299. 
Used by permission of Moffat, Yard and Company. 



i6 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


the proper working of almost every organ in the body. On 
the other hand, faith, hopefulness, confidence, trust, love, 
good cheer stimulate helpfully every organ. Whatever will 
induce and make permanent these latter states makes for 
health and long life. Worship is such an agent. Practically 
every psychologist and physician agrees with William James 
in affirming that under certain circumstances prayer may 
contribute greatly to recovery from illness and should be 
encouraged as a curative method. This recognition of the 
restorative power of prayer in illness carries with it no ap¬ 
proval of the extravagant claims of faith-healing cults which 
have sprung up outside the church, setting themselves 
against scientific medicine. In sickness one’s first duty is 
to consult a reputable medical man. We are insisting on 
no more than this—that the sense of peace, and rest, and 
confident hope that is inspired through worship will greatly 
assist the physician in his work and facilitate the patient’s 
recovery. The failure of the church to recognize this 
value in worship has opened the way for certain religious 
bodies, usually regarded as outside the pale of the Chris¬ 
tian Church, to grow powerful through capitalizing the idea. 
It is the one good thing in a blend of false philosophy, 
pseudo-science, and bad theology. By it “all these cults 
heal the sick, dissipate various kinds of miseries, afford 
moral uplift to the depressed, and create an atmosphere 
of faith, hope, and courage in which achievements are 
wrought that recall the early springtime of Christianity.” 
Is it not time that the church should proclaim again her 
earliest message, since physicians and psychologists of first 
rank encourage her to do so? That message is contained 
in the following paragraph of Religion and Medicine: 

“The prayer of faith uttered or unexpressed has an im¬ 
mense influence over the functions of organic life. It is 
significant that a great English newspaper in an article on 
sleep recommended sufferers from insomnia to betake them¬ 
selves to prayer. The advice was eminently sound, for in 
true prayer the mind is in a receptive attitude. It is open 


THE SIGNIFICANCE OF WORSHIP 


17 


to the inflow of the divine forces that bless and heal. Now, 
the great hindrances to sleep are worry, anxiety, remorse, 
shame, sometimes fear of not sleeping. Prayer calms and 
soothes the soul, lifts it into a higher region than the earthly, 
and thus conduces to the state in which sleep becomes 
possible. Suppose, now, that our whole waking life were 
to be lived as Christ’s was lived, in an atmosphere of prayer; 
that is, in a sense of oneness with the Infinite Life, the 
Soul of our souls, so that we should become channels 
through which the thought and love of God might have un¬ 
hindered course. Must not the body so closely connected 
with the soul feel a new uplift and virtue? This is espe¬ 
cially true of all nervous disorders, because the mind has 
especial relations to the brain and nervous system/’ 7 

In the light of all this, the need for prayer is imperative. 
It is not quite evident, however, that a community is under 
obligation to provide facilities for social prayer. Is not 
individual prayer adequate for all spiritual needs? Great 
souls in all ages have nourished their spirits on private de¬ 
votion. Jesus bade us enter into our chambers and pray 
in secret, and was himself accustomed to go into the moun¬ 
tain and the solitary place apart for prayer. 

What legitimate demand is there for public worship? 
We answer, “The demand of the social nature which caused 
Jesus to form the habit of joining his prayers with his fellow 
men in the synagogue as well as going into a secret place for 
solitary communion with God.” He took upon himself the 
form and nature of a man—and man was not made for 
solitude. It is impossible for him to develop normally ex¬ 
cept in the midst of his kind. Companionship is quite as 
necessary in his worship as in his work. Private devotion 
alone cannot satisfy his total need. The lonely soldier on 
outpost may hold himself heroically to a proper perform¬ 
ance of his duty in spite of the terrors that fill his imagina¬ 
tion. But his steadiness and clear-sightedness—and, in- 

Worcester, McComb, Coriat, op. cit., p. 312. Used by permission 
of Moffat, Yard and Company. 



i8 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


cidentally, his usefulness—will be greatly increased by the 
presence of comrades in arms. With insight Doctor Cabot 
remarks that it means as much for believers as for soldiers 
to touch elbows. The benefits of private prayer are mag¬ 
nified many times by social worship, which exposes us to 
the contagion of other men’s faith. An atmosphere of be¬ 
lief is created in which our own faith is strengthened 
through the realization that others share enthusiastically in 
those beliefs. 

Moreover, fellowship in prayer is the only corrective for 
eccentricities of belief which inevitably characterize those 
who do not join with others in prayer. On our Western 
ranges may be found the sheep-herder who lives alone so 
much that he becomes unlike other men in some essential 
respects. An air of detachment and aloofness distinguishes 
him in the centers of population on the occasion of his 
rare visits. A similar difference is seen among believers. 
One who lives in religious isolation may be genuinely de¬ 
vout, but he will almost certainly be “queer” in his devo¬ 
tion, varying from the normal in doctrine and belief. For 
the standard for faith must be set by the worshiping group 
rather than the worshiping individual. 

It must follow, then, that to “conduct services” is to ren¬ 
der service of the highest sort. It need not be a serious fault 
that the church does nothing except gather the people for 
worship and instruction, provided it does this effectively. 
It may well be that some churches should close their doors, 
but never those which create an atmosphere quickeningly 
religious in the place of public prayer. To such churches 
men will ever turn as to their best friends for inward 
comfort and strength. 

Books Recommended for Further Study 8 

R. C. Cabot, What Men Live By. Part IV. 

Worcester and McComb, Religion and Medicine. 


8 Any desired book in these lists at end of chapters may be 
secured from your own publisher. 



THE SIGNIFICANCE OF WORSHIP 

Washington Gladden, The Christian Pastor, Chapter VI. 
Harry E. Fosdick, The Meaning of Prayer. 

E. Herman, Creative Prayer. 

B. H. Streeter, et al. } Concerning Prayer, Chapter XI. 

H. S. Coffin, IVhat Is There in Religion? 


CHAPTER II 

IDEALS OF WORSHIP 

It may be that the lack of popular interest in public wor¬ 
ship is not due primarily to the religious indifference of 
the community, but rather to the failure of the churches to 
conduct worship effectively. Only rarely does one find a 
service characterized by an atmosphere genuinely devout or 
quickeningly religious. This applies to large churches as 
well as small, to those which use '‘prescribed prayers” as 
well as those which enjoy “free worship.” On the one 
hand, mechanical orderliness and ritualistic decorum are 
emphasized at the expense of life. On the other, freedom 
has admitted slovenliness and irreverence to the sanctuary. 
Under both circumstances one misses the dynamic quality 
which is associated with reality in spiritual things. It is 
inexcusable that a church or minister should do little else 
than conduct services of worship, and yet do that so un¬ 
impressively that the weary spirit finds no rest in collective 
prayer. 

i. Ideals of Worship. This ineffectiveness is due to 
the control of false ideals of worship. One of these is the 
sacerdotal conception of public worship as “Divine Service,” 
or a way of serving God. Doubtless there is a measure of 
truth in this view. If God covets the fellowship of men, 
as the New Testament represents, men render him a 
service when they give themselves to him in love. But this 
thought is obscured by undue regard for the exact per¬ 
formance of the ritual which in the end implies that God is 
primarily interested in the manner in which men offer their 
worship. With true religious insight Doctor Fosdick has 
suggested that public worship is not divine service but 
preparation for divine service in daily living. Again, the 
cesthetic ideal is sometimes in the ascendant. Public wor- 


20 


IDEALS OF WORSHIP 


21 


ship is not distinguished from public entertainment. The 
aim is to give pleasure to the congregation rather than to 
induce the people to pray. The musical numbers are pro¬ 
fessionally excellent. The prayers are rhetorically perfect. 
The sermon is oratorically effective. One may depart from 
such a service in the pleasant frame of mind in which a 
good concert leaves him. But it is not a worshipful frame 
of mind. God is not necessarily in his thought, though the 
sermon, the music, and prayers may have dealt with re¬ 
ligious themes. More commonly, however, the homiletical 
ideal controls in evangelical communions. The sermon is 
exalted to the place of primary importance in the service. 
Everything else is incidental. Historically the reformers 
of the sixteenth century who substituted the sermon for 
the sacrifice of the mass, and, in their reaction against every¬ 
thing Roman, either abolished from the public service that 
which appealed to the aesthetic sensibilities or assigned it 
to a distinctly subordinate place, are responsible for this 
“sermonolatry.” The influence of this ideal is still power¬ 
ful, as the common custom witnesses of announcing services 
of worship as “preaching services.” Under this ideal the 
pastor permits himself to become absorbed almost ex¬ 
clusively in the preparation of the sermon, giving little or 
no attention to the music or public prayers. These are re¬ 
garded as unimportant “preliminaries” to the real means 
of grace. The congregation too regards them in like man¬ 
ner and is satisfied if it is finally assembled by the time the 
sermon has begun. Under this ideal the value of the service 
is determined by the accident as to whether or not the 
sermon is “good.” 

Each of these ideals emphasizes something that deserves 
careful consideration. There should be enough of ritualism 
in public worship to make the service reverent and orderly. 
There should be sufficient respect for aesthetic values that 
the sensibilities of the ordinary person shall not be offended. 
And the educational value of the sermon should be appre¬ 
ciated to the extent that the minister shall always put into 


22 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


it his best thought and effort. But to emphasize unduly 
any one of these admirable qualities defeats the end of so¬ 
cial prayer by substituting a subordinate for a primary aim. 
This aim can never be to teach correct ritualistic action, 
or to affect pleasantly the aesthetic feelings, or to impart 
knowledge of religious subjects. It is nothing less than 
the development of proper attitudes of soul toward God 
and men—to induce the great worshipful moods and give 
them stability. 

In his excellent volume on Worship in the Sunday School 1 
Professor Hartshorne groups the more important Christian 
attitudes under five heads: Gratitude, Good Will, Rever¬ 
ence, Faith, and Loyalty. Each of these is a composite 
emotion including many others which in themselves are 
legitimate ends of worship. For example, gratitude is 
compounded of joy, tenderness, and the feeling of obliga¬ 
tion. Good will embraces joy, pity, sorrow, forgiveness, 
and kindness. Reverence is a blending of fear, wonder, 
admiration, tenderness, respect, dependence, love, and peni¬ 
tence. Faith is made up of hope, assurance, joy, freedom, 
aspiration, confidence, and trust. Loyalty involves the 
sense of ownership, devotion, and self-surrender. The 
problem that is set for the leader of public worship is to 
conduct himself in such a manner and lead the people in 
such exercises as will arouse one or more of these emotions. 
Whatever other values the service may possess, if it fails 
to do this, it cannot properly be called “public worship.” 

2. Psychology and Worship. The leader of worship 
should be a student of modern psychology. Educators have 
long understood the value of this science and no one can 
be regarded as equipped for the work of teaching 
who is not familiar with its principles. But Professor 
Gardner’s comment on the relation of psychology to preach¬ 
ing applies with equal force to the whole matter of public 
worship: “The works discussing the preparation and de- 


x Pp. 50-58. 



IDEALS OF WORSHIP 


23 


livery of sermons rarely, if ever, approach the subject from 
the standpoint of modern functional psychology. The psy¬ 
chological conceptions underlying most of these treatises 
belong to a stage of psychological thought long since past. 
But there seems to be just as much reason for applying the 
principles of modern psychology to preaching (or worship) 
as to teaching/’ * 2 The minister who desires to become 
skillful in the art of conducting social worship will take 
into serious account the literature of this subject, especially 
that part of it which treats of the psychology of the crowd. 
His first task is to create mental unity, induce the people to 
think and feel together. This suggestion may be resented 
by those who believe that the “crowd mind” is hopelessly 
inferior in every way. 3 But Gustave Le Bon, the great 
pioneer in this field, insists that while the crowd is intel¬ 
lectually and volitionally inferior to the individual, emo¬ 
tionally it may be worse, or better, according to circum¬ 
stances. If human nature sometimes degrades itself in col¬ 
lective action, it likewise, on occasion, glorifies itself thus. 
“Doubtless a crowd is often criminal, but it is also often 
heroic,” says Le Bon. “It is crowds, rather than isolated 
individuals, that may be induced to run the risk of death, 
to secure the triumph of a creed or an idea, that may be 
fired with enthusiasm for glory and honor, that are led on 
almost without bread and without arms, as in the age of 
the crusades, to deliver the tomb of Christ from the infidel, 
or, as in ’93, to defend the Fatherland. Such heroism is 
without doubt somewhat unconscious, but it is of such hero¬ 
ism that history is made. Were people only to be credited 
with the great actions performed in cold blood, the annals 
of the world would register few of them.” 4 

a Reprinted by permission of The Macmillan Company. Part in 

parenthesis the author’s. Charles S. Gardner, Psychology and 
Preaching, Preface. 

3 See Martin, The Behavior of Crowds. 

"Reprinted by permission of The Macmillan Company. Gustave 
Le Bon, The Crowd, p. 37f* 



24 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


If it is possible to lift one to higher levels of feeling and 
acting in the crowd than he is likely to reach as an indi¬ 
vidual, surely it is entirely legitimate to manipulate the 
crowd to that end. This is the justification of many revival 
campaigns which are open to criticism from other points of 
view. After all the objections are entered, the fact re¬ 
mains that for a little while men thought, felt, and acted on 
higher levels than they were wont to do in “cold blood.” 

It may be helpful to summarize the essential characteris¬ 
tics of the crowd mind. A multitude need not be a psy¬ 
chological crowd. It is not, so long as its component in¬ 
dividuals think and act for themselves. On the other hand, 
widely scattered individuals may display the marks of a 
crowd. You do not have a crowd until mental and emo¬ 
tional fusion has taken place and the individual mind is 
sunk in the collective mind. This group mind is not a mere 
summing up of all the individual minds composing it. 
“What really takes place is a combination followed by the 
creation of new characteristics, just as in chemistry certain 
elements when brought into contact combine to form a new 
body possessing properties quite different from those of 
the bodies that served to form it.” 5 

In quality this collective mind resembles the “primitive” 
or “barbarian mind.” It is impulsive, credulous, unstable, 
mobile, highly suggestible. It does no critical thinking, and 
quickly transforms feeling into action. The consciousness 
of numbers gives it a sense of power, and the disappearance 
of self-conscious individuality creates a condition in which 
ideas and feelings are very contagious, running quickly 
from person to person. In these qualities we find the se¬ 
cret of a crowd’s intolerance and also of its generosity, of 
its distrust and its faith, of its irritability and its patience. 

The leader of worship must understand the nature of the 
crowd mind, utilizing its suggestibility to make higher 
moods and thoughts contagious. His first task is to create 

'Reprinted by permission of The Macmillan Company. Le Bon, 
op. cit., p. 30 . 



IDEALS OF WORSHIP 


25 


mental unity, induce the people to think and feel together. In 
the beginning of the service there is always a high degree 
of “self-conscious individuality” in the assemblage. The 
people are gathered in one place, but they are not of one ac¬ 
cord, or one mind. Each is concerned with his own special 
interests and there is little common feeling. Some are 
coldly critical, others relaxed and drowsy, while still others 
permit their attention to wander uncontrolled among their 
personal affairs. 6 The minister must fuse the people men¬ 
tally so that he can direct their thoughts and feelings into 
the desired channels. 

It would be too much to assert that there is no common 
feeling at all at the beginning of the service. That would 
be true only of an assembly which had gathered accidentally. 
In the ordinary service the fact that persons have come to¬ 
gether impelled by a common purpose gives somewhat of 
psychical unity to start with. 7 This sense of oneness is 
intensified if the assembly gathers within four walls, and is 
thus protected from distracting influences from without. 
The degree in which physical segregation helps to unify 
the congregation intellectually and emotionally may be 
realized by holding an out-door service occasionally. Fur¬ 
thermore, if the architecture, decorations, and symbolism of 
the room are attractive and suggestive, and the organist is 
playing softly, the sense of unity is deepened. 8 But at 
best the state of psychical fusion in the beginning of the 
service is low, and the problem is to increase it to the point 
where the congregation will receive uncritically the ideas 
of the leader. 9 

Let it be said that absolute fusion is neither to be ex¬ 
pected nor desired. This is accomplished only when “the 
crowd” becomes a “mob” in which the individual ceases to 
exercise his mental or volitional powers and responds in- 

“Gardner, op. cit., p. 240. 

T Gardner, op. cit., p. 237. 

’Cutten, Psychological Phenomena of Christianity, p. 395. 

9 Gardner, op. cit., p. 210. 



26 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


stinctively to the influence of crowd-suggestion. To sup¬ 
press entirely the personality of the individual would be 
immoral, though it has been done repeatedly in religious re¬ 
vivals and regarded as evidence of the power of God. The 
leader may attempt nothing more than to secure the interest 
of every person in the congregation without robbing any of 
his intellectual independence or paralyzing his will. As a 
matter of fact this is all that can be accomplished any way 
except in case of the purely passive. Persons of good men¬ 
tal equipment will resist immediately any unwarranted at¬ 
tack upon their individuality. 

Many ministers untutored in the principles of psychology 
have employed with great skill the methods best suited to 
promote the process of mental fusion. Great revival preach¬ 
ers have always been masters of applied “crowd psychol- 
ogy.” First, the scattered congregation is brought close 
together. When people are near each other, ideas and feel¬ 
ings are more readily communicated from one to another 
because the subtle physical changes of body and coun¬ 
tenance are more easily recognized. Close crowding re¬ 
stricts freedom of bodily movements than which nothing 
tends more to depress the individual self. Professor Ross 
observes that “the strength of multiplied suggestion is at 
its maximum when the individual is in the midst of a 
throng, helpless to control his position or movements. . . . 
Often a furious, naughty child will become meek and obedi¬ 
ent after being held a moment as in a vise. On the play¬ 
ground a saucy boy will abruptly surrender and ‘take it 
back’ when held firmly on the ground without power to 
move hand or foot. The cause is not fear, but deflation of 
the ego. Here is the reason why individuality is so wilted 
in a dense throng, and why persons of a highly developed 
but somewhat fragile personality have a horror of getting 
nipped in a crowd.” 10 

After bringing the people close together, the leader will 

10 Reprinted by permission of The Macmillan Company. E. A. 
Ross, Social Psychology, p. 43b 



IDEALS OF WORSHIP 


27 


require them to act together. A hymn is announced, and 
the request is made, “Let all stand and join in the singing.” 
The creed, recited by all, follows the hymn. After the 
prayer, the congregation unites in repeating the Lord’s 
Prayer, minister and people kneeling. And later in the 
service other provision is made for concerted action on 
the part of the worshipers. This has the same tendency to 
wilt the individual self as close crowding. “If all stand or 
leap or shout or kneel, ... or do anything else which may 
occur to the leader, it develops a consciousness of oneness 
and breaks up the personal isolation in which the sense of 
individuality is at a maximum.” 11 Furthermore, if the 
bodily posture is related to the feeling which the leader 
desires to awaken, it tends to produce that feeling, or to 
intensify it, if already present. It is hard to be sad for long 
if one forces himself to smile. To fall into the physical 
attitude of prayer tends to create the desire to pray. 12 

The emotional unity produced by crowding and concerted 
action is unstable. The mind instinctively begins searching 
for some object, or thought, or experience which will justify 
the emotion that has been induced. If no such object can 
be found, the sense of individuality begins to rise again in 
the congregation, and the leader has “lost his crowd.” The 
skillful minister will see to it that there is no delay in pre¬ 
senting to the congregation those religious ideas upon which 
he desires them to fix their attention and which correspond 
to the mood that has been induced. This he may do by fol¬ 
lowing the organ voluntary or the opening hymn (chosen 
for its rhythmical qualities which promote mental fusion) 
by an invocation in which there is expressed briefly the 
desire for the sense of God’s presence, or by a recital of 
the creed which directs the attention of the believer to the 
great affirmations of his faith. The hymns, the prayers, the 
anthem, and the sermon will be used likewise to direct the 
thought of the worshipers toward those spiritual subjects 

“Gardner, op. cit., p. 250. 

12 Cutten, op. cit., p. 395 - 



28 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


that are related to the feelings which have been aroused, 
and which will deepen them. Only thus can the condition 
of psychical unity be maintained and filled with religious 
significance. 

3. Principles of Worship. The attention of the con¬ 
gregation must be held once it is won, and such direction 
must be given their collective thinking as will intensify the 
higher emotions and increase the will to goodness. In order 
to do this, the leader must have regard for certain great 
principles which always control social worship when it is 
conducted skillfully. 

a. The first of these is unity. It implies that all the sev¬ 
eral acts of worship shall be subordinated to the control 
of a single purpose and filled with a common spirit. This 
does not mean that the sermon is to be preached repeatedly 
in the hymns, prayers, and anthems before the time for the 
sermon itself arrives. It will be enough if the thought and 
feeling induced by the music and prayers shall accord with 
the spirit of the sermon, and nothing incongruous shall be 
admitted to set up a counter movement of feeling. 

Great variety of intellectual content may be entirely con¬ 
sistent with this kind of unity. Let us suppose that the 
aim of the service is to lead the congregation into a deeper 
love for Christ. Love, we have noted, is a composite emo¬ 
tion in which adoration, respect, tenderness, reverence, joy, 
trust, and devotion are blended. The service, ideally, should 
awaken all these feelings, and they are sufficiently varied 
that hymns, anthems, and prayers may make their respective 
contributions without duplicating in the least that which 
is made by the sermon. The music need not deal directly 
with the subject of Christ so long as it evokes some of the 
emotions associated with love. Or, again, the subject is 
so many-sided that every act of worship may deal directly 
with it in some aspect without making the service monot¬ 
onous. 

b. The second great principle is variety. The occasion for 
it is twofold. The congregation is a heterogeneous group 


IDEALS OF WORSHIP 


29 


composed of old and young, children and adults, men and 
women, cultured and uneducated. It is not to be supposed 
that these diverse elements can be interested in the same 
thing or, at least, to the same degree. Yet each person in 
the congregation has a right to get something out of the 
service. If the sermon does not appeal, then the hymns, 
the Scripture, or the prayers may. But more important, 
the psychical nature of every person in the congregation 
demands variety if his attention is to be held throughout 
the service. The attention cannot be focused for long upon 
a single object. It is impossible for me to hold my thought 
to the desk upon which I write unless I break up the one 
object of thought into many by considering it from different 
points of view. By directing the attention now to this aspect 
and now to that, it is possible to make the desk an object 
of interest for a long time, but in no other way. Of what 
material is it made? What is its shape? What are its di¬ 
mensions ? How much drawer space does it contain ? Is it 
preferable to a roll-top desk? Only thus can I keep the 
desk long in my thought, for it is the nature of attention to 
wander from one object to another. The skillful leader of 
worship must present varying objects to the attention that 
will gratify its appetite for change and at the same time 
keep it close to the main matter. Only so may the thought 
of the congregation be controlled. And this is as true for 
every part of the service as it is for the service as a whole. 
The preacher will soon lose the attention of the congrega¬ 
tion during the sermon unless he passes swiftly from one 
phase of his theme to another. The hymns will grow unin¬ 
teresting if all are of the same type. It is better for the 
choir to sing but one number than two which produce the 
same emotional effect. 

c. In applying the second principle we are limited by the 
first. This gives us a third, progress. In seeking variety 
we are not permitted to seek merely ‘‘something different/’ 
It must be that particular different something which will as¬ 
sist the movement of thought and feeling in the desired 


30 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


direction. Conceivably it might be so different as to be in¬ 
congruous, and divert the service entirely from its proper 
channels. The demand here is precisely that which we make 
upon a story for movement and action toward some well- 
defined end. 

d. The foregoing principles combine to suggest a fourth. 
The service should have a definite plan. The leader should 
know exactly what is to be accomplished by the service as 
a whole and just what contribution each act of worship will 
make to the realization of the plan. He will not go to the 
service without giving the most careful thought to every 
detail. Hymns, prayers, Scripture, music, and sermon will 
be woven “into a harmonious whole which shall in its total 
effect induce the desired change in the minds of the au¬ 
dience.” 13 

e. A fifth principle which must control, at least in Prot¬ 
estant worship, is democracy. The Roman Catholic theory 
is that the clergy, especially the bishops, constitute the 
church. The laity are admitted only to a position of passive 
obedience. Participation in worship is the exclusive privi¬ 
lege of the clerical orders. The laymen are only onlookers. 
The Reformation, however, democratized the priesthood by 
regarding all true believers as priests. The effect of this 
upon public worship was revolutionary. Worship became 
immediately the prerogative of the congregation, and con¬ 
gregational singing was substituted in large part for the 
chanting of priests. Congregational prayers were intro¬ 
duced, and the whole service was conducted in the language 
of the people. This was a return to the ideal of the early 
church, in which all with one accord and one mouth glorified 
God. 14 

The Protestant theory of public worship is that all the 
action in the service is the collective action of the congre¬ 
gation. In the special musical numbers the choir represents 


13 Hugh Hartshorne, Worship in the Sunday School , p. H5f. 
“Romans 15. 6. 



IDEALS OF WORSHIP 


3 i 


the congregation. Likewise the prayers of the leader are, in 
fact, congregational prayers uttered by him in a purely 
representative capacity. He is only the mouthpiece of the 
people expressing for them their praise and petitions. 

But the representatives of the congregation should never 
overshadow the congregation itself. The leader should 
hold up continually the obligation of the whole assembly 
to participate heartily in the many parts of the service de¬ 
signed for collective use—creed, hymns, prayers, etc. No 
congregation should permit the minister and the choir to 
monopolize the service. Its rights in this regard are very 
precious and were won at great cost. 

We should be warned that democracy is threatened by 
mediocrity of taste and standards. Under an aristocratic 
ideal the service is in danger of becoming mechanical and 
unreal from excess of ritualism. Under a democratic ideal 
it is menaced by disorder, irreverence, extemporaneousness, 
unwarranted assertion of individuality by minister and 
members of the congregation, maudlin sentimentality, gen¬ 
eral cheapness in tone and ideals. One of the chief prob¬ 
lems of the leader of social prayer is to open the door for 
the many to participate in worship without loss of dignity 
and impressiveness in the service. 

/. Finally, public worship should be beautiful. God is 
the source of all beauty, and in his worship “tasteless and 
misshapen” forms should have no place. This applies, first 
of all, to the place of worship. It is difficult for a congre¬ 
gation to worship in an environment that offends the aes¬ 
thetic sense. Unlovely surroundings will continually ob¬ 
trude themselves upon the thought of the worshipers, 
heightening the self-consciousness of the individual and 
tending to destroy the psychical unity that is essential to 
social worship. Yet how commonly are things tolerated in 
the place of prayer which are unfriendly to the spirit of 
worship—architectural styles that are pagan rather than 
Christian, bad acoustics, poor ventilation, improper light¬ 
ing, crude attempts at interior decorating, and often un- 


32 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


cleanliness! Such things “impede the spirit’s upward aspira¬ 
tion.” Our churches need not be unbeautiful because we 
believe in the simplicity that goes with democracy. In re¬ 
acting from the Roman type of architecture we need not 
revert to the Greek temple. In protesting against the 
Roman use of symbols we need not make our places of 
worship resemble concert rooms. If we do not introduce 
anything into the environment that suggests religious 
thoughts, at all events we can see to it that nothing in the 
surroundings shall offend the good taste and peace of mind 
of the worshipers. 

Moreover, regard for the principle of beauty has to do 
with orderliness and reverence. There is something very 
pleasing in a service which begins promptly at the appointed 
hour and in which it is at once evident that everything has 
been anticipated and nothing left to haphazard—ministers, 
lay assistants, choir, ushers, and sexton cooperating together 
with perfect understanding. Furthermore, the service 
should be radiant with the beauty which inheres in reality 
in worship—worship that is “in spirit and in truth.” What¬ 
ever else may be true of it, unless the service is electric 
with the Divine Presence and worshipers are made to realize 
the nearness of an invisible world of spirit and power, it 
cannot be “a beautiful service” in the highest sense of the 
term. 

4. Prescribed vs. Free Worship . 15 In applying the 
proper ideals of collective worship, some communions pro* 
vide an order of service in which every element is pre¬ 
scribed by ecclesiastical authority, and nothing is left to the 
individual judgment of the leader of the congregation or to 
the congregation itself. Others delight in free worship, 
which permits the leader to determine for himself what 
shall go into the service. The Methodist Episcopal Church 

10 This section is little more than a digest of the chapter on “Free 
Worship versus Formularies” in M. P. Tailing’s excellent book 
Extempore Prayer, p. 2off. Used by permission of Fleming H. 
Revell Company. 



IDEALS OF WORSHIP 


33 


uses both types of service, and her ministers should under¬ 
stand the values of each. 

A ritualistic service is justified for some by their view of 
authority in religion. They regard the priesthood as the 
“exclusive channel of regenerative grace.” The laity are in¬ 
competent to think for themselves or to express themselves 
in religious matters. Hence the need of fixed formularies 
in which the exact words of prayer, and praise, and instruc¬ 
tion are set down for the leader and congregation to repeat 
according to specific directions. But “prescribed worship” 
is found among other communions who disavow this notion 
of authority. Theology has little to do with forms of 
worship. “Any church of any faith might adopt without 
modification of its tenets a fixed order of worship.” In 
the Established Church of England and the Protestant Epis¬ 
copal Church in the United States may be found great va¬ 
riety in theological points of view. These differences seldom 
manifest themselves in public worship, however, for every 
priest, whether conservative or progressive, uses the same 
order of worship. Perhaps this is the reason why a pro¬ 
posal to alter or amend the Book of Common Prayer is 
regarded as much more momentous than a charge of theo¬ 
logical errancy. 

a. Tailing states the case for a liturgical service as fol¬ 
lows : 16 

(1) It has a certain stateliness of thought and charm of style 
which satisfy the ear and cling to the memory. 

(2) It makes the worshipers independent of the officiating clergy¬ 
man, so that his faults do not hinder their devotions . 

(3) Affording a common and uniform nUeans of worship, it 
serves to hind together all the members of the church into one fel¬ 
lowship and loyalty. This unity embraces the past as well as the 
present. For persons who possess a strong historical sense, the 
thought that they are using the very same words of prayer and 
praise that have been found upon the lips of believers in all genera¬ 
tions is profoundly inspiring. 

xe Extempore Prayer, p. 2of. Used by permission of Fleming H. 
Revell Company. 



34 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


(4) It is especially suitable for old people, because of its un¬ 
changing form of words, . . . and for young people, because 

their interest is sustained and they have some part in the worship. 

(5) Nonliturgical or free worship possesses no uniformity, and 
the people take but little part in the service, and are exposed to the 
doctrinal bias and personal peculiarities of the minister. 

(6) Free worship is in great danger of suffering from the un¬ 
chastened promptings of the mind and uncorrected effusions of 
the heart. 

b. The case for free worship is summarized thus: 

(1) Prescribed worship makes overmuch of method, failing to 
distinguish between the spirit and the form of prayer. Free wor¬ 
ship in the nature of the case regards the spirit of worship as all- 
important. 

(2) Free worship trusts the renewed life to express itself in 
forms that are entirely appropriate. It believes that where the 
head and the heart are right the worship will not go far wrong. 
. . . If man were vacant of God, worship would need to be a pre¬ 
pared article offered by hearts incapable of real emotion, but while 
God is above and within us, worship will tend to take on a suitable 
mood and a reverent expression. 

(3) Fixed forms of worship are the work of periods of calm in 
religious life, and they tend toward formalism. On the other hand, 
every great crisis or religious activity called a “revival” or “re¬ 
formation” has been marked by the casting off of religious cere¬ 
monial. . . . For the church, as for the individual, intense reli¬ 
gious life takes on its own expression, and it is direct, simple, and 
spontaneous. 

(4) Prescribed worship is not sufficiently elastic to meet the 
demand made upon it by special occasions. When some years ago 
Edward VII, then Prince of Wales, was ill, and a call for national 
prayer on his behalf was issued late in the week, the only church 
which' failed to respond on the following Sabbath was the National 
Church'. Because the bishops had not had time to send down 
prayers for the use of the clergy, there was silence in Anglican 
Churches that day upon the very theme which most occupied the 
British heart.” 

(5) “Unchastened promptings’’ are not inherently necessary in 
free worship. It is possible for the individual leader to correct 
the “effusions of the heart” by giving careful attention to every 

"Tailing, op. cit., p. 136E Used by permission of Fleming H. 
Revell Company. 



IDEALS OF WORSHIP 


35 


detail of worship and combine the grace of the liturgy with the 
warmth and spontaneity of free worship. If nonliturgical wor¬ 
ship is often marred by indecorum, that proves only that we should 
teach decorum—not that we should take away all freedom of 
expression. 

(6) True worship is always creative effort—“an exercise in 
thinking.” To this end free prayer must be more helpful than 
liturgical formularies. To express one’s own mood compels an 
attempt at original thought that is not demanded in reciting a fixed 

form. 

Books Recommended for Further Study 

Hugh Hartshorne, Worship in the Sunday School. 

Charles S. Gardner, Psychology and Preaching, Chapter XI. 

E. A. Ross, Social Psychology. 

M. P. Tailing, Extempore Prayer. 

Washington Gladden, The Christian Pastor, Chapter VI. 

L. C. Clark, The Worshiping Congregation. 

B. H. Streeter, et cd., Concerning Prayer, Chapter VIII. 

T. Harwood Pattison, Public Worship. 

N. J. Burton, In Pulpit and Parish, pp. 187-204. 


CHAPTER III 


MATERIALS OF WORSHIP—MUSIC 

Under ordinary circumstances social worship is ex¬ 
pressed in Music, Prayer, Reading of the Scriptures, the 
Announcements, the Offering, the Sermon, and the Bene¬ 
diction. The leader should understand the contribution 
which each of these exercises may make to the service and 
should constantly endeavor to make himself increasingly 
skillful in their use. 

The relation of music to worship is so intimate that in 
both its vocal and instrumental forms it is a powerful agency 
for expressing and developing religious sentiment. 

i. The Organ. Its unique adaptability for accompany¬ 
ing choral song makes the organ the sacred instrument par 
excellence. The pastor cannot be expected to be an expert 
performer, but he should know the religious value of organ 
music and what is to be accomplished by preludes, inter¬ 
ludes, offertories, and postludes. Otherwise he may find 
himself at the mercy of an organist who takes only profes¬ 
sional interest in his work, or, more likely, at the mercy of 
a congregation whose inattention defeats the noblest efforts 
of the organist. More regrettable still, in the absence of 
proper ideals he may himself create the impression that the 
organ is only “a piece of sumptuary elegance” by his lack 
of respect for its contribution. 

We have already called attention to the organ as a useful 
agent in fusing the congregation into an emotional unity 
at the beginning of the service. By the beauty and strength 
of its tones it commands immediate attention and creates a 
hospitable state of mind. Lorenz says, “If there were no 
other justification of the organ prelude, ... its influence 
as mere music in organizing the crowd of individuals into 

36 


MATERIALS OF WORSHIP 


37 


a psychical unity were enough. The mere fact that they 
are listening to the same music, are having a common ex¬ 
perience, creates a composite personality that becomes an 
induction coil intensifying the current of feeling that is to 
flow to the individual listener. . . . The opening music is 
not the negligible matter it is usually considered to be.” 1 

Just as the organ prelude promotes unity of spirit in the 
beginning, so the interludes, responses, and offertory are 
useful in stabilizing emotion when there is danger of it 
being broken up by interruptions or sudden changes of di¬ 
rection in the service. For example, most congregations are 
disturbed by the belated arrival of many persons after the 
general prayer. Again, the offering tends to retard the 
movement of the service. And during the holy communion, 
the movement of the congregation threatens the social self 
that has been created by the prayers of the service. An 
organ interlude at such times may intensify the prevailing 
mood, and retain the attention of the congregation in spite 
of the distraction. In like manner the postlude should 
stabilize the feeling in which the congregation finds itself 
at the close of the service. As a matter of fact, however, 
many organists manage to dispel that feeling immediately 
by the crashing, militant kind of number selected for this 
part of the service. 

We have been thinking of the pipe organ. But the con¬ 
gregation which cannot afford such an instrument need not 
despair of having its service enriched by instrumental 
music, for these effects may be approximated upon a reed 
organ or piano by a good musician. Indeed, some leaders 
of church music are not at all sure that a pipe organ is an 
unmixed good. “Given a small congregation that is not 
hearty in its participation in the service of song, given an 
organist who thinks that he is the whole thing and that the 
more stops he pulls out the more evident is his musical 
capacity, and the organ becomes a thing of evil, smothering 

*E. S. Lorenz, Practical Church Music, p. 4of. Used by per¬ 
mission of Fleming H. Revell Company. 



38 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


and submerging the choir and congregation, and absolutely 
domineering over the whole service and neutralizing all its 
possibilities for good. . . . The very bigness of the pipe 
organ magnifies the mistakes and inefficiency of an incom¬ 
petent organist.” 2 

The personality of the organist is more important than 
the instrument. His function is ministerial and his music 
should be a genuine expression of his personal faith, hope, 
trust, and love. Only to the extent to which his playing is 
self-revelation will he contribute largely to worship. It 
must follow that lack of respect on the part of the con¬ 
gregation for the work of the organist is exceedingly repre¬ 
hensible. Yet how commonly members of the congregation 
feel at liberty to visit with each other during the musical 
parts of the service! And how frequently one sees even 
the minister conversing with a guest in the pulpit at these 
times! It is always a solemn thing for a human being to 
unveil the deepest feelings of his heart to public gaze. 
This the minister does in his public prayers and sermon, as 
the organist should do when he plays, or the soloist when 
he sings. If irreverence and inattention are unseemly in the 
presence of the one at such a time, it is equally so in the 
presence of the others. 

2. The Choir. The mediaeval church regarded member¬ 
ship in the choir as a clerical office. This view gradually 
developed under the control of the ascetic ideal which re¬ 
quired that the choir should be composed only of men and 
boys, and, later, only of priests. Under this theory the 
choir came to monopolize the musical part of the service 
and the congregation was reduced to silence. This theory 
still exists in the Roman Church, but is modified greatly in 
its practical working. 3 The Protestant conception of the 
priesthood restored to the congregation its right to par¬ 
ticipate in worship. Nevertheless in some modern Prot- 

3 Lorenz, op. cit., p. 373. Used by permission of Fleming H. 
Revell Company. 

J- Van Oosterzee, Practical Theology, p. 386. 



MATERIALS OF WORSHIP 


39 


estant churches the choir has again absorbed largely the 
musical part of the service and the congregation participates 
most sparingly in song. This has come about through a 
false notion of the function of the choir—that it is a device 
for adding variety to the service, or a means of elevating 
the musical tastes of the congregation, or of ministering to 
its artistic pride. The democratic ideal of worship requires 
that the choir shall he thought of as a “specialized segment 
of the congregation.” As such it must assist the congre¬ 
gation in congregational song and express, as the representa¬ 
tive of the congregation, the worship of the people in mu¬ 
sical forms that are beyond the ability of the untrained 
multitude. I have not found a more satisfactory statement 
of this principle than the one made by Pratt in his Musical 
Ministries in the Church: 4 “The first purpose of the choir 
is to support and foster congregational singing. . . . Here 
I mean much more than a vague -moral sympathy. I mean, 
of course, that a first reason for a choir’s existence is that 
it may furnish a vocal nucleus to which the voices of the 
people can attach themselves, a positive mass of harmony in 
which every singer in the congregation can find his place 
with confidence and comfort. . . . The second function of 
the choir grows directly out of the first. . . . Congrega¬ 
tional hymn-singing has obvious limitations on the musical 
side. It can hardly be expected, save in exceptional cases, 
to pass beyond the use of simple forms like the chant and 
the hymn tune. Yet the tonal embodiment of prayer and 
praise and of declarative utterances of all kinds tends con¬ 
stantly to stretch far beyond these smaller musical forms. 
The uses of music for these expressive purposes are surely 
not to be confined wholly to what an accidental, heterogene¬ 
ous and untrained assembly can 'accomplish. . . . Here 
the choir comes in to extend and supplement congregational 
action as a vicarious agency. Choir music, then, is partly 
designed to supply forms of congregational expression that 

‘Waldo Selden Pra-tt, Musical Ministries in the Church, p. 86ff. 
Used by permission of Fleming H. Revell Company. 



40 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


the people in general are technically unable to offer in 
person.” 

But there is a large measure of truth in the mediaeval 
conception of the choir. It is the teacher and inspirer of the 
congregation as well as the instrument through which the 
congregation expresses its adoration and praise. In the 
latter respect its service parallels that of the minister in 
prayer; in the former, that of the minister in preaching. 
At one moment it faces toward God in worshipful address 
and at another it faces the congregation with instruction 
and exhortation. 6 

If these constitute the true function of the choir, it is 
obvious that the purely artistic and professional interests 
of the singers must always be subordinated to the religious 
in selecting and rendering choir music. They do not sing 
primarily to entertain the congregation, hat to lead the peo¬ 
ple into a spirit of prayer and worship. However great 
may be the musical skill of the choir, its work is a failure 
if it is not done in a manner which increases the devotion 
of the congregation. 

As to form, choirs vary greatly in America. Some 
churches prefer the choir composed of men and boys. 
Others have especial regard for the mixed quartet. Gener¬ 
ally, however, the choir is a chorus of male and female 
voices. Each of these types has advantages and disadvan¬ 
tages. The fresh voices of a boys’ choir are delightful, but 
the problems of discipline and irregularity of attendance 
make it difficult to maintain. The quartet is easily man¬ 
aged, but is likely to be controlled by purely professional, 
artistic, or even commercial considerations. The volunteer 
chorus is democratic, and is capable of producing under 
proper direction effects far beyond the power of the quartet. 
But while democracy solves some problems it creates others. 
The irregularity of attendance of a volunteer chorus, its 
quarrels and misunderstandings, the musical shortcomings 
of many of its members, and the wide diversity of musical 


“Pratt, op. cit., p. ioof. 



MATERIALS OF WORSHIP 


4i 


tastes are sources of constant anxiety. The ideal choir 
is a volunteer chorus built around a quartet so that there 
will be at least one trained voice for each part. In the in¬ 
terest of variety it may be wise to substitute occasionally 
an “adjunct choir’ composed of boys, or girls, or young 
people of both sexes, for the regular chorus. 

In the selection of music, 6 the leader should have regard 
for the capacity of the choir. A quartet should not select 
music which can be rendered effectively only by a chorus, 
and a chorus should not choose a grade of music beyond its 
ability to sing well. The capacity of the congregation must 
he considered, also. A kind of music that will serve ad¬ 
mirably the needs of some congregations will distress others. 
And the temporary mood of the congregation must he taken 
into account. If the choir is to express for the congregation 
its worshipful feelings, its musical forms must accord with 
the spirit of the special occasion. Finally, the preference 
of the minister who hcts charge of the service must he re¬ 
spected. In the interest of unity the prevailing considera¬ 
tion in selecting the music cannot be the preference of some 
member of the choir who “likes” a certain anthem, but 
what will make the largest contribution to the service as the 
leader has planned it. This implies, of course, that there 
must be the closest cooperation between minister and choir 
leader. 

The subject of dress may become engrossing in a choir. 
Tastes in millinery and clothing vary so greatly and 
strangely that the array of colors and styles in the choir may 
interfere with the spirit of worship. This problem may be 
solved in one of two ways: require all to wear vestments of 
black or white, or insist upon modest, inconspicuous cloth¬ 
ing of a certain general type. In most cases the latter course 
will be more advisable. 

If the choir is the mouthpiece of the congregation ex¬ 
pressing vicariously the praise and petitions of the whole 
assembly, it should be composed ideally of none but those 


°Lorenz, op. cit., pp. 293-298. 



42 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


who love God and desire to worship him. How can they 
worship for others who do not worship for themselves ? It 
does not follow, however, that a pastor or Music Commit¬ 
tee should be in haste to expel from the choir all so-called 
unconverted people. And, certainly, there is no warrant 
for making church membership a condition of membership 
in the choir. Religious experience is always relative, and 
there are many whose hearts reach Godward but whose 
spiritual attainments have not seemed to justify a public 
confession of faith. Let the pastor speak often to the 
choir of the ideals that should control them in their work, 
exalting the ministerial character of their service, and this 
will create an atmosphere in which one will not tarry long 
who does not find it congenial. 

Repeated reference has been made to the relation of the 
pastor to the choir. The importance of this relation cannot 
be overemphasized. The finest results are never secured 
where the choir has a large sense of independence, pre¬ 
suming to select not only the anthems but the hymns with¬ 
out regard for the plans which the minister may have for 
the service. This lack of cooperation, however, is charge¬ 
able against the pastor quite as often as against the choir. 
The wise pastor will take the choir into his confidence, re¬ 
vealing his ideals for their common work, meeting with 
them frequently at rehearsals, not to direct them but to 
show appreciation of them, and he may well meet them as 
they prepare to enter the service for a moment of earnest 
prayer that the spirit of worship may be upon him and them 
as together they attempt to lead others in worship. This 
will result in a fellowship which will be mutually delightful. 
The pastor should be final authority in the selection of 
hymns and anthems, but he will be careful to exercise this 
authority in tactful ways. He will come with requests 
rather than commands, and will covet and act upon, as far 
as possible, suggestions from the choir. The initiative, of 
course, in all these matters, must come from him. 

3. Congregational Song. Important as the organ and 


MATERIALS OF WORSHIP 


43 


choir may he, “the true center of Protestant music must al¬ 
ways he the music of the congregation.” The reason ap¬ 
pears in the fundamental theory of Protestant worship— 
that worship is the common right of the whole body of be¬ 
lievers. The principal means through which the congrega¬ 
tion may express itself collectively is congregational song. 
This is one of the indispensable agencies for creating and 
developing religious sentiment—an important means of im¬ 
pression as well as expression. On these accounts every 
pastor should be eager to make the singing of the congre¬ 
gation as effectiye as possible. To do this he must know 
something of the history and religious value of hymns. 

Congregational singing in the language of the people ante¬ 
dates the Reformation. 7 As early as 1505 a. d. the follow¬ 
ers of John Hus had a well-developed body of hymns and 
tunes for congregational use. Both Luther and Calvin ex¬ 
alted this element of worship, but the influence of the Ger¬ 
man reformer was very different from that of the French¬ 
man. Luther cherished a great affection for the German 
folk-songs and the old Latin hymns which were a part of 
the Daily Office of the Roman Church. The fact that the 
hymn was a free composition, and not merely a paraphrase 
of Scripture, did not make it objectionable to him. On the 
contrary, he found it to be a most effective instrument for 
spreading the new gospel. At once he began to write Ger¬ 
man hymns based without prejudice upon the Scripture, the 
old Latin and Bohemian hymns, and his own religious ex¬ 
perience. These were set to suitable music and placed in 
the hands of the people. The result is that the history of 
German hymnody continues without interruption from the 
beginning of the Reformation until the present, and is much 
richer in the number and quality of its hymns than is Eng¬ 
lish hymnody. 

Unlike Luther, Calvin had no taste either for the popu- 

T The reader is referred to the excellent work on The English 
Hymn, by Louis F. Benson, for the history and development of 
English hymnody, to which work I am greatly indebted. 



44 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


lar songs of the people or for the hymns of the Latin 
Church. He approved of no congregational songs except 
those based upon Scripture, and practically limited himself 
to metrical versions of the Psalms. Thus it came about that 
wherever Calvin’s influence predominated in the spread 
of the Reformation, psalm-singing, as distinguished from 
hymn-singing, characterized Protestant worship. Because 
of this, English-speaking peoples became psalm-sing¬ 
ers and remained so for almost two centuries after the Ref¬ 
ormation. 

Unfortunately, the men who made the earliest metrical 
translation of the Psalms into English—Sternhold and Hop¬ 
kins—were neither good poets nor accurate translators. 
Moreover, the Psalms belonged to the earlier stages of 
revelation, and, however satisfying they may have been for 
the time that produced them, they could never meet the 
larger demands of Christian worship, for in them the wor¬ 
shiper could not name the name of Jesus. Again, some of 
them breathed a spirit that was un-Christian. During the 
seventeenth century a group, including such Anglicans as 
Bishop Ken and John Mason, a Catholic like John Austin, 
and a Nonconformist like Richard Baxter, attempted to 
“Christianize the Psalms,” making them say what modern 
believers would say, and to find in other parts of the Bible 
and in the more evangelical Latin hymns the materials for 
congregational songs. Their work was only preparatory, 
however, to the more important work of Isaac Watts, whose 
relation to the Christian hymn is at least comparable with 
that of David to the Hebrew Psalm. 

Watts’ work now seems unduly restricted. His hymn- 
forms were practically limited to the three simplest meters 
—long, common, and short. For the materials of his hymns 
he refused to go outside the Bible on the ground that this 
contained the record of Christian experience in all its 
ranges, and therefore no occasion was found for going 
beyond the bounds of Scripture for hymn themes. More 
strangely still, he declared that hymns could not be poetry 


MATERIALS OF WORSHIP 


45 


since they must be adapted to the capacity of the common 
mind. He claimed no more for his own hymns than that 
they were rimed verse. In all of these respects his ideals 
contrasted sharply with those of the Wesleys. 

In the early part of the eighteenth century the conditions 
of congregational song were more sorry, if possible, in the 
Church of England than among Nonconformists. The 
singing of psalms “lined” by a precentor was the universal 
practice. John Wesley described the custom in the town 
churches of his day with picturesque adjectives: “the miser¬ 
able, scandalous doggerel of Sternhold and Hopkins”; at 
first droned out two staves at a time “by a poor humdrum 
wretch,” and then “bawled out” by a handful of “wild, un¬ 
wakened striplings,” “who neither feel nor understand” 
what they “scream,” while the congregation is “lolling at 
ease, or in the indecent posture of sitting, drawling out one 
word after another.” 8 His desire to improve the psalmody 
of the English Church is responsible for his contribution 
to English hymnody. For, according to Benson, “the 
leader who played the part in Methodist hymnody which 
Calvin had taken in Huguenot psalmody was, contrary per¬ 
haps to the general impression, John Wesley, and not his 
brother Charles. He planned it, prepared the ground, in¬ 
troduced and fostered it, molded and administered it, and 
also restrained its excesses.” 9 

The Wesleys were trained to sing both psalms and hymns 
in Epworth Rectory. They were admirers of the work of 
Watts and used his Hymns and Songs in the Holy Club. But 
it remained for the Moravians to reveal to them the su¬ 
periority of a fervid type of hymn-singing over the unin¬ 
spiring psalmody of the Anglicans and the Nonconformists. 
This Moravian influence upon Methodist hymnody is 
marked by the number of hymns translated from the Ger- 

8 Reprinted and condensed from The English Hymn, p. 222, by- 
Louis F. Benson by permission of the publishers, George H. Doran 
Company. 

“Benson, op. cit., p. 220. 



46 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


man and by the spiritual fervor of Methodist singing, 
though John Wesley repudiated the “whimsical Allegories” 
and “perverted spiritualizations” which characterized Mo¬ 
ravian hymnody about the middle of the eighteenth century. 

The work of the Wesleys in developing the English hymn 
is admittedly second only to Watts. But for the “reproach 
of Methodism” which caused Anglicans and Nonconform¬ 
ists alike to hold the followers of Wesley in contempt, their 
influence might have been even greater. Charles wrote 
some six thousand five hundred hymns, though it is only 
fair to say that many of these were so mediocre that never 
more than seven hundred and twenty-four were admitted 
to any Methodist Hymnal, and in the official Methodist 
Hymnal, adopted in 1905, the number is reduced to one 
hundred and twenty. The best of these are found in the 
hymn books of practically all Christian bodies. John Wes¬ 
ley enriched the store of English hymns not so much by 
original compositions as by translating from the German, 
by “tinkering” the hymns of others, and by editing a num¬ 
ber of hymn books. “His equipment for this undertaking,” 
says Benson, “was his sound musical feeling, a very lim¬ 
ited technical knowledge, and an unusual practical sense.” 10 

More important than the number, however, was the new 
type of hymn which they produced, the evangelistic hymn 
based upon individual Christian experience. Charles Wesley 
“felt an impulse to translate every new spiritual experience 
into song. . . . His hymns are frankly autobiographical. 
They portray without any effort to tone down his own 
heightened emotions to the average level, his personal 
spiritual history: his unrest and even agony under bondage 
to the law, his instantaneous conversion and assurance of 
faith, the period of ecstatic joy, the ups and downs of the 
pilgrim progress to the ‘second rest/ his delight in the an¬ 
ticipation of death.” 11 Naturally, this type of hymn sung 

10 Benson, op. cit., p. 239. 

“Reprinted from The English Hymn, p. 249, by Louis F. Benson, 
by permission of the publishers, George H. Doran Company. 



MATERIALS OF WORSHIP 


47 


by the multitudes with fervor created the kind of experience 
which gave it birth, and Methodist singing became the most 
powerful single agent in the Methodist revival. 

Furthermore, the Wesleys improved the literary quality 
of the hymn. In contrast with Watts, whose measured 
verse was “written down to the level of the meanest ca¬ 
pacity,” they insisted that “the hymn should be a religious 
lyric” and that the capacity of the people should be leveled 
up to an appreciation of the beauties of true poetry. There 
is reason to think that some modem Methodists are fol¬ 
lowing Watts rather than Wesley in the use of “rimed 
verse” instead of poetry in congregational singing. 

The history of the English hymn, after Watts and Wes¬ 
ley, breaks up into many diverging streams under denomina¬ 
tional, literary, and revivalistic influences. A brief study 
of the authors’ index of the latest Methodist Hymnal will 
suggest the extent to which hymnody was enriched during 
the nineteenth century by contributions from every one 
of the more important religious bodies, and of the catholic 
spirit of their work. The same book, too, shows the influ¬ 
ence of broader literary standards which admit a type of 
religious lyric not regarded heretofore as adapted to public 
worship, for example, Holland’s “There’s a Star in the 
Sky,” and Lanier’s “Into the Woods My Master Went.” 
The revival movements of the last century created a new 
body of spiritual songs designed to make an immediate ap¬ 
peal to the popular mind. The inferior quality of most of 
these songs will prevent their admission into church hym¬ 
nody, though this may not apply to some of the nobler 
“Gospel Songs” of Moody and Sankey when the copyrights 
expire. 

Change in religious thought and feeling is bound to be 
reflected in time in a new type of church song. The influ¬ 
ences at work at the present time to modify the English 
hymn are mainly theological and social. The modern point 
of view respecting these matters appears conspicuously in 
the new Congregational Hymn Book, The Pilgrim Hymnal, 


48 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


published in 1904. Doubtless we shall see further evidences 
of these influences in other denominational hymnals in the 
near future. 

The value of a hymn is determined, of course, by the 
degree in which it serves the purpose of congregational 
song. We have noticed already that it is useful in unifying 
the many individualities into a single group-self. This may 
justify at times the use of an inferior or even a nonreligious 
song at the beginning of the service. Such songs as “The 
Church in the Wildwood/’ “Beautiful Isle of Somewhere,” 
and “Brighten the Corner Where You Are,” possess in 
themselves little or no religious value, for they do not ex¬ 
press any definite religious faith. They are sentimental 
rather than religious. It is the music rather than the stanzas 
which accomplish the effect produced by such songs. The 
rhythm of the music tends to bring all together into a com¬ 
mon state of emotion that is indispensable to a successful 
service. “I Love to Tell the Story,” “He Leadeth Me,” and 
“O Sometimes the Shadows are Deep,” set to the tunes com¬ 
monly associated with them, possess the same unifying 
power and, in addition, have a definite religious content, for 
they are genuine expressions of personal faith in God. The 
former type of song could never be used appropriately in 
any except an informal service, and even then only at a 
point in the service where the rhythm of the music was 
more important than the thought expressed in the words. 

Again, congregational singing is the most effective method 
of expressing collective prayer and praise. For this pur¬ 
pose the ephemeral “gospel song,” whose effect is physical 
rather than spiritual, and due to the music rather than the 
words, is unworthy. As an expression of faith it is too 
often inane. John Wesley instructed his preachers to in¬ 
terrupt the “noisy hymn” and ask the congregation a few 
questions like the following: “Now, do you know what you 
said last? Did it suit your case? Did you sing it as to God, 
with the spirit and understanding also?” Such an inter¬ 
ruption is not only a test of the soberness of the congrega- 


MATERIALS OF WORSHIP 


49 


tion but also a very severe test of the quality of the hymn. 
To raise such questions about some of the songs used com¬ 
monly in public services would be deadly. For no one 
really means what the songs say, and the realization of this 
would cause the congregation to turn away from them in 
disgust. There is a place in social worship for the 
rhythmical, mediocre song —but it is not a large place . “God 
has a right to be worshiped with the best we have.” And 
when the aim of the song is to express a living and rational 
faith, none but the songs that are lofty in thought and dig¬ 
nified in expression are worthy either of God or the con¬ 
gregation. It may be that for a time a minister must ac¬ 
commodate himself to the limitations of a congregation that 
is lacking in appreciation of the better hymns and is in¬ 
capable of singing them, but he should be ashamed to leave 
them long in that condition. He can do nothing that will 
have a more favorable effect upon their spiritual lives than 
teach them to express their praise in worthy musical forms. 

A third function of congregational singing, which con¬ 
stitutes a third test of the value of a song, appears in its 
effect upon the individuals that compose the congregation. 
It is a means of impressing as well as expressing religious 
truth. Doctor Pratt says, “The value of any particular hymn 
is partly to be judged by the state of opinion and senti¬ 
ment in which it actually leaves you. Is it true in its 
thought of God and Christ, in its reference to all the mani¬ 
fold aspects of sin and salvation, in its representation of the 
spiritual life? And is it healthy in general tone, affecting 
in its imagery and masterful in its progress, and sufficiently 
noble to awaken enthusiasm for what it treats ? These are 
severe tests, but are they not fair ones?” 12 In this respect 
the modern gospel song again appears unworthy. Its 
thought of God and Christ is often very far from true, its 
ethical tone is generally individualistic, and its imagery and 


13 Musical Ministries in the Church, p. 67. Used by permission of 
the publishers, Fleming H. Revell Company. 



50 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


forms of expression often are so lacking in nobility that 
one is repelled rather than attracted to the subject. 

If these constitute the true function of congregational 
singing, it must be that the hymn stands in its own right in 
the service, co-ordinate with, and not subordinate to the 
sermon. Both, however, must contribute cooperatively to 
the movement of the service in a given direction. The hymn 
need not deal directly with the subjects treated in the ser¬ 
mon, but it should create a congenial atmosphere and ex¬ 
press a spirit that is kindred to that of the sermon. This 
is especially true of the first and second hymns of the Meth¬ 
odist Order of Worship. Many ministers prefer that the 
closing hymn should reinforce directly the thought of the 
sermon, intensifying the emotional response of the congre¬ 
gation. Finally, it is evident that the leader of public wor¬ 
ship is the only person who is in position to select the con¬ 
gregational songs intelligently. 

Let us attempt to select some hymns by way of illustrating 
the principles just stated. Assume that the aim of the 
service is to lead the congregation into an appreciation of 
the value of prayer. The sermon, of course, should deal 
with the subject in a way to clear up intellectual confusion 
and arouse the will to pray. What hymns should be chosen 
from The Methodist Hymnal for this service? Inasmuch 
as prayer is communion with God, the opening hymn may 
properly express the joy which the devout heart experiences 
in divine fellowship and should be set to a rhythmical tune 
whose spirit accords with that of the hymn. We might well 
use hymn No. 330, beginning, 

“My hope is built on nothing less 
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness”; 

or better, perhaps, hymn No. 364, beginning, 

“My Saviour, on the word of truth 
In earnest hope I live”; 

or hymn No. 540, which begins, “O could I speak the 
matchless worth.” If the Creed, Prayer, Anthem, and 


MATERIALS OF WORSHIP 


5i 


Scripture Lesson shall have been used advantageously, the 
atmosphere will be sufficiently worshipful, that the second 
hymn may be much more stately than the first. Cowper’s 
hymn, No. 454, is now appropriate: 

“Sometimes a light surprises 
The Christian while he sings.” 

For the closing hymn, one should be selected with the wist¬ 
ful note, dealing directly with the subject of prayer and 
strengthening newly formed resolutions to pray. Hymn 
No. 495 is good: “From every stormy wind that blows”; or 
hymn No. 355, “Love divine, all loves excelling.” 

In announcing hymns the leader is bound to give them 
the consideration to which they are entitled as the most 
important means for the expression of collective worship. 
They should not be announced indifferently, as though the 
aim were simply to do a conventional thing or to fill up the 
time, but earnestly as though there were nothing more im¬ 
portant at that moment than to sing that particular hymn 
in the right manner. Whether or not the hymn shall be 
read, wholly or in part, depends upon the purpose of the 
leader in reading. If he desires to call attention to its sig¬ 
nificance for life and religious experience let him read by 
all means. But if the reading is done mechanically and for 
no serious purpose, the door is opened immediately to un¬ 
reality. Better no reading at all than this kind. 

It follows that the minister should be a diligent and life¬ 
long student of hymns and tunes. He should see to it that 
his own acquaintance with congregational song is con¬ 
stantly growing and should manage to introduce such va¬ 
riety of singing into the worship of the church and Sunday 
school that the people will come to love the best in church 
music. Let him magnify the official hymnal of the church 
and master its music and poetry. He should teach a new 
hymn to the congregation frequently, and sing it often until 
it is familiar. He may give pleasing variety to regular serv¬ 
ices by telling historical incidents connected with many of 


52 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


the great hymns. To guard against a narrow range of 
choice, he should keep a record of hymns used on the suc¬ 
cessive Sundays of the year, avoiding frequent repetition of 
the more familiar numbers. 

Books Recommended for Further Study 

Waldo Selden Pratt, Musical Ministries in the Church. 

E. S. Lorenz, Practical Church Music. 

Louis F. Benson, The English Hymn; Studies of Familiar Hymns. 

Edward S. Ninde, The Story of the American Hymn. 

Edward Dickinson, Music in the History of the Western Church. 

Peter C. Lutkin, Music in the Church. 

Nutter and Tillett, The Hymns and Hymn Writers of the Church 
Hymnal. 

Carl F. Price, The Music and Hymnody of the Methodist Hymnal. 

John M. Walker, Better Music in Our Churches. 


CHAPTER IV 


MATERIALS OF WORSHIP—PRAYERS 

Worship is prayer, and in social worship the prayers nor¬ 
mally should be the strongest parts of the service. As a 
matter of fact, they are generally the weakest, overshadowed 
by both the sermon and the music. A thoughtful liturgist 
inquires, “Is it not true that you have heard from the same 
lips a sermon orderly, clear, virile, and a prayer rambling, 
indefinite, and vapid; the former being a presentation of 
well-considered, well arranged and important truth, fe¬ 
licitously expressed; the latter ill-considered, poorly ar¬ 
ranged thought, born of struggle so apparent or following 
a rut so wearily worn as to destroy all sense of spiritu¬ 
ality P” 1 To learn to pray is the most important part of a 
ministers task. Beecher used to declare that “he who 
knows how to pray for his people need not trouble to preach 
for them or to them/’ 2 

i. Defects in Public Prayers. — a. Among the more com¬ 
mon defects which mar public worship, unreality must be 
named first. This may appear in mock humility and exag¬ 
gerated self-depreciation on the part of the liturgist, in af¬ 
fected fervor and highly rhetorical address to Deity, or in 
the mechanical manner in which the prayer is made. What¬ 
ever else should be true of it, a worthy prayer must be a 
sincere and unaffected expression of feeling. 

b. Carelessness, amounting to flippancy and irreverence, 
destroys the value of many prayers. This may appear in 
the formlessness of the prayer—wandering, incoherent, 
empty of intelligible ideas, as if no preparation had been 
made for this act of worship. Or it may appear in the 

Hailing, op. cit., p. i6f. 

’Yale Lectures, II, p. 47 * 

53 



54 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


manner of him who leads—matter-of-fact, familiar, lacking 
awe and humility. 

c. Other prayers are spoiled by flattery and compli¬ 
mentary references to men in their presence. Who has not 
been sickened by something as reprehensible as the follow¬ 
ing: “Bless, we pray thee, our beloved brother. We thank 
thee for the wonderful work he is doing and the powerful 
sermon to which we have just listened’’? The author of a 
valuable treatise on worship well says, “Appreciation of 
God’s servants at home or abroad has a rightful place in 
prayer, but is no warrant for fulsome praise in their pres¬ 
ence.” 

d. Charles H. Spurgeon was particularly provoked with 
prayers overloaded with endearing words. “When ‘Dear 
Lord,’ and ‘Blessed Lord,’ and ‘Sweet Jesus’ come over and 
over again as vain repetitions, they are among the worst 
of blots,” he believed. 

e. Prayers are denatured when, under the guise of ad¬ 
dressing Deity, they become sermons to the congregation 
on doctrinal, political, historical, or personal matters. Such 
“preaching prayers” are not prayers at all. 

/. Frequent repetition of the divine name is to he avoided. 
A good rule in this matter would be to use the name of God 
only when it will add emphasis. Likewise all other repe¬ 
titious words and phrases detract from the impressiveness 
of devotion. This is always due to disconnected thought. 
One who has a perfectly clear notion of what he wants to 
say will express it freely. 

g. Other common faults, without attempting an ex¬ 
haustive catalogue, are shouting, wild gestures, rapid speech, 
drawling, monotone, crudities of all kinds. In addressing 
the infinite God we should be at least as circumspect as when 
speaking to “the leading citizen” in our town. 

2. The Principles of Effective Prayer. In correcting 
the faults of public prayer one should keep before him the 
great principles which make for effectiveness in this act of 
worship, and seek constantly to apply them to himself. 


MATERIALS OF WORSHIP 


55 


a. It must be evident that the very first of these is 
reality in religious experience. To pray well in public one 
must pray much in private. And he must carry the at¬ 
mosphere of one who knows God at first hand, who is sure 
of the unseen world of spirit, and power, and goodness, 
and who speaks with the quiet assurance of perfect knowl¬ 
edge and sincerity. 

b. The second principle derives from the Protestant 
theory that worship is the function of the entire congrega¬ 
tion, and that all public prayer is “common prayer,” even 
when expressed by a single person. One who “leads in 
prayer ” speaks not for himself alone, but in a representative 
capacity. He is merely the mouthpiece through which the 
congregation pours its collective confession, repentance, 
adoration, and praise. He must, then, not only identify 
himself with God through the transparent genuineness of 
his religious faith, but also with the congregation in those 
experiences and feelings which all share together. It is the 
common sorrow, the common sin, the common need, and the 
common aspiration that should find expression in his public 
prayers—not the experiences that are purely personal to 
himself. To this he pledges himself when he suggests, 
“Let us pray,” rather than, “I shall pray.” He must not 
allow himself under these circumstances to be mastered by 
private considerations of health, weariness, depressing 
moods, or individual sorrow. One of the greatest things 
the late Theodore Roosevelt ever did was to make an ad¬ 
dress before a political convention the day after his son 
Quentin was reported lost, without referring in any way to 
his individual grief, though the whole country knew about 
it. In similar fashion the minister must repress in his 
public prayers all personal matters, giving right of way 
only to that which is general. Only so can he make himself 
a perfect mouthpiece for collective prayer. Henry Ward 
Beecher expresses this sense of oneness with the congre¬ 
gation admirably: 

“Hundreds and hundreds of times as I rose to pray and 


56 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


glanced at the congregation I could not keep back the tears. 
There came to my mind such a sense of their wants, there 
were so many hidden sorrows, there were so many weights 
and burdens, there were so many doubts, there were so 
many states of weakness, there were so many dangers, so 
many perils, there were so many histories—not world his¬ 
tories, but eternal-world histories—I had such a sense of 
compassion for them, my soul so longed for them, that it 
seemed to me as if I could scarcely open my mouth to 
speak for them. And when I take my people and carry 
them before God to plead for them, I never plead for myself 
as I do for them—I never could.” 3 

c. The third principle is preparation. If speaking to 
the people is a solemn privilege for which one should 
make the most careful preparation, speaking for them 
in prayer is no less solemn, demanding equal dili¬ 
gence beforehand. But, strangely enough, comparatively 
few ministers prepare their prayers as painstakingly as they 
do their sermons. With some this is sheer negligence. With 
others it is the result of a fanatical notion that such prepara¬ 
tion would interfere with the movement of the Holy Spirit 
—as if the Holy Spirit despised our normal faculties and 
declined to operate except through the impulsive, the un¬ 
premeditated, and undisciplined moods of the heart and 
mind. Let us “no more venture into the pulpit with an 
impromptu prayer than with an impromptu sermon.” 

This preparation should be double—(i) a preparation 
of the heart of the liturgist by private prayer and medita¬ 
tion to induce the mood and spirit of worship, and (2) a 
preparation of the mind by carefully selecting the ideas that 
are to be incorporated into the prayer and arranging them 
in the most effective manner so that the prayer will be some¬ 
thing more than a disorderly “medley of phrases devoid of 
intelligible order.” This latter preparation may well go 
as far as the actual writing of the prayer. It is not incom¬ 
patible with extemporaneousness, which implies merely the 


‘Yale Lectures, II, p. 46. 



MATERIALS OF WORSHIP 


57 

free utterance of that which has been well considered 
previously. 

In organizing the materials of the prayer we must 
have regard for the principles of composition which control 
in the creation of all literary forms. 

(1) First, the prayer must have a definite plan. Its 
character will depend upon the nature and the occasion of 
the service. If there is nothing exceptional in the setting, 
the prayer may be general in its scope, comprehensive, 
rather than particular, in its emphases. If the occasion is 
‘‘special,” the plan will be shaped accordingly, larger place 
being made for the matter rendered conspicuous by the 
time and place. The one who prays should know exactly 
the direction his prayer will take and the particular steps 
by which he is to proceed. 

(2) A plan implies a sense of completeness and unity 
when the prayer is finished. Every part must be related to 
the central idea which unifies all into a single whole. Re¬ 
spect for this principle of unity, moreover, will keep out 
everything that is foreign to the main matter. Again, it 
will not overlook any important item that should be in¬ 
cluded. “How often in extemporaneous prayer one hears 
many subjects introduced, none of them completed, nor the 
whole rounded out in such proportions as to have a distinct 
effect—a bundle of scraps, no more like an organism than 
a parcel of legs, arms, fingers, and ears resemble the human 
body.” 

(3) The plan can be unfolded only gradually. This re¬ 
quires movement and action in the development of the 
prayer, precisely as is required in the development of a 
story. In the absence of this “travel of thought” from 
point to point, producing a sense of change, the attention 
soon wearies, and interest fails through monotonous repeti¬ 
tion. Movement, then, should be rapid enough to hold the 
attention. And under the control of the unifying idea it 
should be orderly enough to be followed easily. 

(4) This movement should rise steadily from point to 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


58 

point until the highest of all— the climax —has been reached. 
Then the prayer should be concluded. This upward move¬ 
ment is not merely one of thought, but of feeling as well. 
For a prayer is less a “train of thought” than a “train of 
emotions.” 

(5) The introduction of the prayer usually consists of 
such ascriptions to Deity as are appropriate to the dominant 
note in the prayer. If it is a prayer of thanksgiving, then 
God may be thought of as the gracious Father and Bene¬ 
factor of men. If a prayer for help, as the Almighty and 
Omnipotent. For a typical example, take the familiar col¬ 
lect for purity which is a prayer for cleansing: 

Introduction: “Almighty God, unto whom all hearts 
are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are 
hid 

Petition: “Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the in¬ 
spiration of thy Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love 
thee, and worthily magnify thy holy name; through Jesus 
Christ our Lord. Amen.” 

(6) The conclusion of the prayer should be appropriate 
to what has preceded, and should be brief. Most of the 
prayers in that excellent volume, The Temple , by W. E. 
Orchard, close almost abruptly with a simple “Amen.” 
More commonly the conclusion cites the authority by which 
the requests are made or consists of an adoring phrase ad¬ 
dressed to some Person of the Trinity: 

“Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.” 

“For Jesus’ sake. Amen.” 

“That we may glorify thy holy name. Amen.” 

“Through the merits of thy Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.” 

“Through him who liveth and reigneth with thee and the 
Holy Ghost, now and forever. Amen.” 

“To the honor and glory of thy name. Amen.” 

(7) The ideal public prayer will be simple and chaste as 
to language. There will be no long or involved sentences. 
The words, for the most part, will be of one or two sylla¬ 
bles. Vulgarisms and slang will have no place in them 


MATERIALS OF WORSHIP 


59 

Terms that are low and coarse and also high and inflated 
should be avoided. 

d. The materials of public prayer consist of Confession, 
Petition, Thanksgiving, and Intercession. It is possible to 
avoid monotony of subject and method by tabulating, for 
one’s private use, under these general headings, items that 
properly may be incorporated into one’s prayers. The fol¬ 
lowing catalogue, which is only suggestive, is an abbrevia¬ 
tion of the “Summaries” made by James Burns, M.A., in 
A Pulpit Manual, pages 67-77, 4 though I have presumed to 
add certain themes suggested by our new social ideals. 

Confession 

( 1 ) Sins of Daily Life 

Love of self; of ease; of money; of display. Indifference to 
spiritual things; neglect of duty; blindness to the unseen. 

( 2 ) Sins Against Our Fellowmen 

Unkindness in judgment; lack of courtesy and forbearance; sel¬ 
fishness and hardness of heart toward the needs of others; lack of 
sympathy with their sorrows and losses; neglect of the poor, the 
weak, and the erring. 

( 3 ) Sins Against God 

Ingratitude for daily mercies; unfaithfulness in duty, and con¬ 
stant forgetfulness; neglect of prayer; indifference in worship; 
want of love and zeal for spiritual things; betraying Christ through 
the worldliness of our lives. 

( 4 ) Sins of Mind and Heart 

Vanity, pride, boastfulness, impatience, intolerance, lack of con¬ 
sideration for the opinions of others. Want of love and compas¬ 
sion toward others; selfish absorption in ourselves which makes 
us callous; insincerity; indulging in vain, frivolous, and empty 
conversation; using the language of devotion without the spirit; 
uttering hot, passionate, and unkind words when we ought to have 
remained silent; remaining silent when we ought to have spoken. 
Our indolence and evil temper; our worldly discontent at the 
success of others; our acts of dishonesty and deceitfulness in our 
relations to our fellowmen. Our forgotten vows and neglected 


4 Used by permission of The Pilgrim Press. 



6o 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


opportunities; the sorrows which have brought no repentance, and 
the heavenly pleadings which we have disregarded; the things left 
undone, and those which we ought not to have done; the sins and 
weakness which mar our best moments, so that even when we 
would do good, evil is present with us. 

(5) Sins of the Congregation 

The poverty, languidness, and frequent irreverence of our wor¬ 
ship; the worldly thoughts and business cares which we allow to 
distract our minds; the coldness of our praises and the feebleness 
of our prayers; our unwillingness to part with our possessions for 
the extension of Christ’s kingdom; our indifference toward the sin¬ 
ful without and the lost and erring around our doors. 

(3) Sins of the Nation 

Our love of wealth, and greedy pursuit of material prosperity; 
the pride and haughtiness which we show toward other peoples; 
our increasing love of luxury and display in our public life; the 
decline of worship, the public neglect of the Day of Rest; our indif¬ 
ference toward social wrong and injustice, and our neglect of the 
poor, the suffering, and the weak. 

(7) Sins of Social and Industrial Groups 

Our failure to apply Christian principles of conduct to indus¬ 
trial relationships; our disregard of human values; the subordina¬ 
tion of human welfare to profit and power; and inability to do the 
work of the world in the spirit of brotherhood; our exploitation 
of childhood and womanhood; our indifference to the effect of in¬ 
dustry upon the home; our industrial wars. 

Petition 

(7) For Forgiveness 

For all sins; for omissions of duty; for every unkind word, evil 
thought or imagination; for every sinful deed, for everything in 
past conduct which has merited judgment. 

(2) For Cleansing 

From the stains and impurities wrought in us by sin and the 
world; cleansing of the conscience, of the mind, of the heart, of 
the will; cleansing of the eyes, the hands, the lips. 

(3) For Renewal 

In faith and love; brought back to sense of divine favor; 


MATERIALS OF WORSHIP 


61 


strengthened with might to withstand temptation; reassured of 
Christ’s presence, protection, love. 

(4) For Protection 

In time of temptation, trial of faith, spiritual weakness; in time 
of sorrow, sickness, affliction ; in time of worldly loss, discourage¬ 
ment, disappointment; in time of doubt, difficulty, and perplexity. 

(5) For Grace 

To forgive; to possess the soul in patience; to maintain peace of 
conscience, joy in the Holy Ghost, assurance unto the end; to wit¬ 
ness a good confession; to persevere unto the end. 

(3) For Courage 

To follow in the footsteps of Christ; to bear His Cross and do 
His will; to testify our allegiance to Him before the world with 
boldness; to willingly sacrifice for His sake; to endure hardness 
as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 

(7) For Deliverance 

From vain imaginings; foolish repinings; needless care; vain 
regrets; embittered speech; love of coarse enjoyments; the scorn¬ 
ful spirit; compromising with sin; ingratitude, and distrust of the 
divine love. 


Thanksgiving 

(1) For Daily Mercies 

Food; raiment; comforts and protection of home; health of body 
and mind; strength to labor; life’s daily tasks and opportunities; 
love which shields and supports us. 

(2) For Our Education 

Friends, teachers, and instructors of youth; example of those 
around us; education and inspiration which come from past his¬ 
tory, literature, art, and daily activities; life’s disciplines and ex¬ 
periences; trials which train us in patience, humility, and in forti¬ 
tude; sacred ties which bind us to the Unseen. 


(3) For Our Country 

Its history and traditions; its civil and religious freedom; its 
justice and good government; the growth of charity, consideration 
for the wants of the weak and poor, and national responsibility. 


62 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


(I) For Spiritual Mercies 

Day of rest—its opportunities, associations, and obligations. 

House of God—its ministry and sacraments; sacred ties and holy 
worship. 

Gift of Christ—His Incarnation, Ministry, Atonement, Death, 
Resurrection, Ascension, and Intercession. 

Holy Spirit—guidance of His Church and people; revelation of 
truth; inspiration for holy conduct. 

Holy Word—its revelation of divine purposes; its inspiration and 
promises. 

Saints and teachers; prophets and evangelists; all who serve in 
faithfulness. 

Intercession 

(1) For Native Land 

The President and his family; his Cabinet and Counselors; both 
Houses of Congress; Army and Navy, and all engaged in service 
of the Commonwealth; Judges and Magistrates; all who occupy 
places of trust and responsibility. 

(2) For Other Nations 

All kings and rulers, together with peoples under their sway; the 
growth in the world of freedom, justice, and good government; the 
overthrow of tyranny and oppression; the spread of the spirit of 
love and brotherhood; the hastening of the reign of the Prince of 
Peace. 

(3) For City 

City, town, parish, or district; magistrates and public men; its 
public institutions and benefactions; its efforts to improve the 
health, happiness, and comfort of inhabitants. 

(4) For Social Classes 

(a) The poor—those working under hard, depressing, monoto¬ 
nous, dangerous, or unremunerative conditions; those suffering 
through unjust social or economic laws; those who are physically 
or mentally unfitted for engaging in life’s battle; those who are 
depressed, or worn out, or dispirited. 

(b) The rich—that they may be good stewards of God’s bounty; 
defended from pride, selfishness, vain display, love of luxury, hard¬ 
ening which comes from success; that they may maintain a lowly 
and obedient heart. 

(c) Those engaged in commerce—that prosperity may be granted 
to all engaged in business and various industries; that divisions be- 


MATERIALS OF WORSHIP 


63 


tween class and class may be healed; that all engaged in business 
may be men of integrity, rectitude, and known for their fair dealing. 

(d) The unfortunate—those losing heart; those crushed down 
by debt, by loss, by failure of their hopes; those embittered by 
adversity; those becoming hard and defiant because of prosperity 
of others; those who have found life a disappointment, and the mul¬ 
titude of the miserable around our doors. 

(e) The afflicted—those who are suffering in mind or body; the 
inmates of our workhouses, hospitals, or kindred institutions; those 
who tend them, doctors, nurses, and all engaged in alleviating 
human distress; those who mourn; those drawing near to death, 
and those in bondage to its fear. Those grievously tempted; those 
who have gone astray—the prodigal, criminal, abandoned; those in 
doubt and spiritual perplexity; those hindered through circum¬ 
stances, weakness of faith, or lack of courage; those who have not 
the courage of their best convictions; those who are growing 
blinded to spiritual realities. 

(f) Employees—women, children, men who work under depress¬ 
ing, dangerous, and unremunerative conditions. Labor organiza¬ 
tions, that they may be wisely led and saved from bitterness and 
malice. 

(g) Employers—that they may be wise and patient, exercising 
their great power over the workers in the spirit of brotherhood; 
that they concern themselves with working men as well as dividends 
—that they be saved from the sin of using other men as tools to 
further their own self-interest. 

(h) For business men—that they be saved from the deceitfulness 
and materialism of trade—that they may realize that they are en¬ 
gaged in useful social service—that all engaged in business may be 
full of integrity and honor. 

(5) For the Church 

Ministers, teachers, missionaries, evangelists, all engaged in her 
service; for spread of Gospel in heathen lands; for missions and 
native Christians; for church with which we are connected; for 
congregation, its minister, office-bearers, members; for all its socie¬ 
ties, its work, and interests. For the coming of Christ in great 
power. 

(d) For Home 

Parents, and children; those in distant lands; those who have 
gone out into the world; those at school; the lambs of the flock; 
any in sickness, trouble, anxiety. 


6 4 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


e. The enrichment of prayer is a matter of never-ending 
concern to the leader of worship, who should constantly 
strive for worthier expression of religious feelings. He 
will need, first, a high standard. This will be found in the 
best liturgical prayers of the church, of which he should 
be a lifelong student. These prayers will assist him in his 
private devotions by suggesting themes for meditation, and 
will be a productive source of new words and synonyms. 
By reading them aloud and memorizing the shortest and 
noblest of them, one will enlarge his vocabulary and accus¬ 
tom himself to dignified, varied, and forceful utterance in 
prayer. Moreover, through these prayers one may become 
acquainted with the collective mind of the church in all gen¬ 
erations and so understand the common need, the common 
sin, the common aspiration which he must interpret. 

f. How long should one pray? Long enough, but not 
too long. Abruptness must be avoided on the one hand, 
and weariness on the other. “He prayed one into a good 
frame of mind and out again by keeping on,” is a complaint 
that might be made against many ministers. The longest 
prayers recorded in the Bible could not have required more 
than ten minutes to deliver. As a rule, the general or pas¬ 
toral prayer should not consume more than five or six 
minutes. Invocations, and prayers after the offering and the 
sermon should be condensed into from one to three sentences. 

g. If prayer is the office of the congregation, and the 
leader is only speaking for the people in a representative 
capacity, they have responsibility for the successful ministry 
of prayer. That responsibility requires that the congrega¬ 
tion shall assemble in a devotional mood, each person de¬ 
liberately quieting his heart in silent prayer on entering his 
pew. (How seldom this is done in Methodist churches!) 
In liturgical services, where certain printed prayers are ar¬ 
ranged for the congregation, all should participate heartily 
in reading. When the leader prays, there should be a 
thoughtful following of his speech and such an appropria¬ 
tion of his sentiments as will make them one’s own. 


MATERIALS OF WORSHIP 


65 


h. Since the days of the apostles Christian congregations 
have expressed their approval of public prayers by audible 
responses, sometimes in the form of a congregational 
prayer, but more often by a simple “Amen” (1 Cor. 14. 16). 
This custom probably was borrowed from Hebrew worship 
(Deut. 27. 15L). In a liturgical service these responses 
may be indicated formally. Sometimes the choir chants the 
prayer, or merely “Amen.” Otherwise the individual mem¬ 
bers of the congregation respond or not as they are moved 
by an inward impulse. When the Lord’s Prayer is used it 
is necessary to give the congregation a sign that the leader’s 
prayer is concluded by closing with a customary formula 
“through Jesus Christ our Lord,” or “in the name of Jesus 
Christ.” 

Early Methodists individually responded with great free¬ 
dom to sentiments which pleased them in prayers, sermons, 
and exhortations by hearty Amens. This custom is largely 
falling into disuse, to the regret of some and the delight of 
others. It does not follow, however, that we have ceased 
to respond inwardly. The deepest and most intelligent 
feeling has never been associated necessarily with the loud¬ 
est expression of emotion. If one is constituted tempera¬ 
mentally so that it is natural for him to respond in this way, 
he should feel at liberty to do so. But neither he nor the 
congregation should feel that his piety is superior to that of 
the quieter brother who responds by a flash of the eye or 
flush of the cheek. And let the speaker never lower himself 
to ask for Amens that are not given without solicitation! 

i. In free worship it is best not to insist upon a certain 
posture as obligatory, either for the congregation or the 
minister. Custom, circumstances, conditions of health, and 
personal preferences are determinative in this matter. For 
the shorter prayers, it is probably well to stand. For the 
longer, tradition and custom favor kneeling among Method¬ 
ists, though increasingly congregations sit while the min¬ 
ister stands. If the leader chooses to kneel when he enters 
the pulpit and during the public prayers, let him do so in a 


66 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


manner that is both graceful and devout. There is no 
spectacle less inspiring than to see a leader of worship 
kneeling upon one knee, the other foot and knee extended 
as far as possible, and hanging by one hand to a corner of 
the pulpit. 

Examples of Public Prayers 

MORNING INVOCATION 

Almighty God, Who hast planted the daystar in the heavens, 
and, scattering the night, dost restore morning to the world, restore 
unto us, we beseech Thee, Thy heavenly light; grant us to pass this 
day in gladness and peace, without stumbling and without stain; 
that, reaching the eventide victorious over all temptations, we may 
praise Thee, the eternal God, Who art ever blessed, and dost gov¬ 
ern all things, world without end. Amen . 8 

EVENING INVOCATION 

Almighty God, Whose light shines undimmed across the rest¬ 
less sea of our lives, look favorably, we beseech Thee, upon Thy 
Church, upon Thy people worshiping Thee in this place, and upon 
all our brethren the world over; let Thy light rest upon us to 
calm and bless; dispel the dark night of our sins and errors; help 
us now with peaceful and pure hearts to worship Thy Name, and 
ever in our lives dutifully to serve, and faithfully to follow Thee, 
Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen." 

PASTORAL PRAYER 

Almighty God, Whose ear is ever open to the cry of Thy chil¬ 
dren, hear us, as at Thy mercy seat we plead for all our brethren 
of the people; for the high and low, the rich and poor, the learned 
and the ignorant; and especially for the sick and the afflicted and 
such as are drawing nigh unto death; for all whose sorrows lie 
heavy upon our hearts. 

We remember before Thee those who bear in the secret of their 
hearts the burden of anxious care or secret sin; those who are pass¬ 
ing through times of danger, temptation, or doubt; those who are 
losing heart in the struggle of life; and those who, neglecting Thee, 
are falling into sloth, indifference, or despair. 

We remember before Thee all in any spiritual doubt or perplexity, 

c From A Pulpit Manual, James Burns, p. 19 . Used by permis¬ 
sion of The Pilgrim Press. 

“Ibid. 



MATERIALS OF WORSHIP 


67 


and we pray for those who are withheld from following Thee by 
pride of heart; by love of pleasure, ease, or display; by worldly 
desires or ambitions; by the fear of man; or by false views of 
Thee and of Thy truth. 

O God, Who dost give the oil of joy for mourning, and the 
garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; relieve, succor, and 
enlighten these our brethren for whose necessities we intercede, 
and grant them a happy and speedy issue out of all their sorrows 
and afflictions. 

Most loving Father, who hast given. Thy Church to be a per¬ 
petual witness to Thy Truth, and hast set her as a light to lighten 
the dark places of the earth, and to draw all men unto Thyself; 
bless, we beseech Thee, this day, the Church Catholic spread abroad 
throughout the world. Sanctify and cleanse her by Thy Word; 
remove all needless divisions, and unite all those who love the 
Lord Jesus Christ in the bonds of love and charity. 

Bless, we pray Thee, the Church with which we are connected; 
enlighten and direct her professors and ministers, her missionaries 
and students, her office-bearers and all her faithful people; grant¬ 
ing us grace to do Thy will, and to accomplish in this land the 
task with which Thou hast intrusted us. 

Hear us as we intercede on behalf of this congregation, that 
Thou wouldst bless our fellow members present and absent, the 
old and the young, the rich and the poor. Prosper our work 
amongst the children, bless each society and organization in our 
midst, and as often as we assemble ourselves together in Thy courts 
help us to render unto Thee acceptable and adoring worship. 

Eternal God, Whose kingdom is from everlasting to everlasting, 
from Whom alone all power cometh, bless, we pray Thee, our 
native land, our King and Queen, and all the members of the Royal 
House; give wisdom to His Majesty’s counselors; direct the 
affairs of this empire; bless every part of the public service, and 
may all who in any way serve the commonwealth do justly, love 
mercy, and walk humbly with Thee, our God. 

Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise 
God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen . 7 

FOR THE CHURCH 8 

O God, we pray for Thy Church, which is set to-day amid the 

7 From A Pulpit Manual, James Burns, p. 48 . Used by permis¬ 
sion of The Pilgrim Press. 

8 From Prayers of the Social Awakening, by Walter Rauschen- 
busch, published by The Pilgrim Press. Used by permission. 



68 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


perplexities of a changing order, and face to face with a great new 
task. We remember with love the nurture she gave to our spir¬ 
itual life in its infancy, the tasks she set for our growing strength, 
the influence of the devoted hearts she gathers, the steadfast power 
for good she has exerted. When we compare her with all other 
human institutions, we rejoice, for there is none like her. But 
when we judge her by the mind of her Master, we bow in pity and 
contrition. Oh, baptize her afresh in the life-giving spirit of Jesus. 
Grant her a new birth, though it be with the travail of repentance 
and humiliation. Bestow upon her a more imperious responsive¬ 
ness to duty, a swifter compassion with suffering, and an utter 
loyalty to the will of God. Put upon her lips the ancient gospel of 
her Lord. Help her to proclaim boldly the coming of the kingdom 
of God and the doom of all that resist it. Fill her with the prophets’ 
scorn of tyranny, and with a Christlike tenderness for the heavy- 
laden and down-trodden. Give her faith to espouse the cause of 
the people, and in their hands that grope after freedom and light 
to recognize the bleeding hands of the Christ. . . . Make her 

valiant to give up her life to humanity, that like her crucified Lord 
she may mount by the path of the cross to a higher glory.—Walter 
Rauschenbusch. 

Books Recommended for Further Study 

M. P. Tailing, Extempore Prayer, pp. 13-219. 

Arthur S. Hoyt, Public Worship in Non-Liturgical Churches, 
pp. 49 - 104 . 

MANUALS OF WORSHIP 

Walter Rauschenbusch, For God and the People. 

W. E. Orchard, D.D., The Temple. 

D. R. Porter, The Enrichment of Prayer. 

Karl R. Stolz, The Psychology of Prayer. 

M. P. Tailing, Extempore Prayer, pp. 220-293. 

James Burns, M.A., A Pulpit Manual. 

George W. Coleman, The People’s Prayers. 

Samuel McComb, A Book of Prayers. 

W. A. Quayle, The Climb to God. 

W. P. Thirkield, Service and Prayers. 

Prayers—Ancient and Modern. 

The Book of Common Prayer. 


CHAPTER V 


Materials of Worship—Lessons, Announcements, 

Offering 

i. Reading the Law, and later the Prophets as com¬ 
mentaries upon the Law, was an important part of public 
worship among the Jews from the time of Moses and 
Joshua (Judg. 8. 34; Deut. 29). This custom was adopted 
by the early Christian Church, which soon added the Gos¬ 
pels and Letters to the Hebrew Scriptures. It has been ap¬ 
proved by all important branches of the modern church, 
except the early Puritans of New England, who counte¬ 
nanced no liturgical use of the Scriptures down to a com¬ 
paratively late period. Gladden quotes from the diary of 
the Rev. Stephen Williams, a Congregational minister of 
Longmeadow, Massachusetts, under date of March 30, 
1:755 : “This day I began to read the Scriptures publicly in 
the congregation.” His biographer notes that this was a 
bold innovation which was sustained in that parish with 
great difficulty. 1 The approved method of using the Scrip¬ 
tures publicly was to read a portion, expounding it section 
by section, leaving nothing to private interpretation. In¬ 
crease Mather declared: “It cannot be proved that Dumb 
Reading, or Public Reading of the Scriptures without any 
explication or exhortation is part of the Pastoral Office.” 
This smacked too much of the popishness from which New 
England Puritans had fled. 2 

At the present time Scripture reading occupies a prom¬ 
inent place in the worship of all Protestant bodies. The 
Methodist order provides for two lessons—one from the 

Washington Gladden, The Christian Pastor, p. 150. Used by- 
permission of Charles Scribner’s Sons. 

3 T. Harwood Pattison, Public Worship, p. 147. 

69 



70 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


Old Testament, generally from the Psalms, read respon¬ 
sively, and the other from the New Testament, read by the 
leader to the congregation. The first lesson affords an op¬ 
portunity for the congregation to express its collective praise 
directly. Only the poetical parts of the Scriptures are 
adapted to this manner of reading—the portions in which 
thought answers to thought and the words are arranged in 
balanced phrases. The congregation is limited practically to 
the Psalms, parts of Job, the Prophets, and occasional lyrical 
passages in the New Testament for such lessons. In The 
Methodist Hymnal the Psalter is arranged with readings 
for morning and evening worship of each Sunday in the 
year, and also for certain special days like Christmas, Eas¬ 
ter, and Thanksgiving. The imprecatory psalms have been 
omitted, and David speaks, for the most part, “like a Chris¬ 
tian.” The leader is not obliged to use this Psalter. He 
may use any lesson from the old Testament. But the 
Psalter will be used regularly by the pastor who appreciates 
the value of democracy in public worship. Any lesson may 
be used on any Sunday, but to avoid the monotonous repe¬ 
tition of a few favorite selections and to enlarge the acquain¬ 
tance of the congregation with the devotional literature of 
the Scriptures, the lessons should be taken in order, begin¬ 
ning preferably with the first Sunday of the calendar year. 
If the Psalter is used regularly in only the morning services, 
the evening lessons may be used appropriately for morning 
worship on alternate years. 

No direction is given in the order concerning the posture 
of the congregation in using the Psalter, and practice varies 
on this point. The psychological result is better if the con¬ 
gregation shall stand. The signal for rising should be as in¬ 
conspicuous as possible. Certainly no bald request need 
be made by the leader, nor awkward upward gesture with 
the arms. It may be generally understood that the rising 
of the choir is the sign for the congregation to stand. Or, 
having allowed sufficient time for each person to find the 
selection after the announcement has been made, let the 


MATERIALS OF WORSHIP 


7 1 


announcement be repeated, at which time the congregation 
will stand. For example, “The lesson in the Psalter for the 
morning of the twelfth Sunday.” Time. “The lesson for 
the twelfth Sunday.” Congregation stands. Or, after an¬ 
nouncing the selection, let the minister be seated. When 
sufficient time has elapsed for all to find the proper page, 
let him stand to read, and his rising will be the signal for 
the congregation to rise. An organ interlude might serve 
the same purpose. 

The manner in which the Psalter is used varies greatly. 
Some communions favor chanting by the congregation in 
unison, or by the congregation or the choir and the minister 
antiphonally. Generally, however, the reading is responsive 
—the leader reciting the verses with odd numbers and the 
congregation those with even numbers. The reading on the 
part of the congregation should be characterized by unity 
and strength of volume, in which, nevertheless, the spirit 
of thoughtfulness and devotion appears. On the part of 
the minister there should be intelligent expression—no in¬ 
toning or mechanical chanting of the words—which will 
call forth a proper response from the congregation, but 
nothing in voice or manner that will attract especial atten¬ 
tion to himself. He is acting as a part of the congregation 
in this exercise and should perform his duty in the light of 
that fact. 

The second lesson is read aloud by the leader alone. The 
aim is didactic—to impress some truth or duty upon the 
congregation rather than to express worshipful feelings, 
though, of course, both these ends may be served. It is the 
custom of many pastors to select a lesson connected with 
the text of the sermon. This is done when the sermon is 
regarded as the primary event in the service, to which every¬ 
thing else is subordinate. But we have seen that the con¬ 
trolling ideal should be worship, not preaching, and under 
this ideal the lesson is coordinate with the sermon and may 
be independent of it. It need not teach the same truth ex¬ 
pressed in the sermon. Indeed, in the interest of variety 


72 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


it is better if it shall express some other truth. And in the 
course of a year’s ministry all the important Christian 
truths should be presented through this medium. The An¬ 
glican and Episcopalian communions accomplish a compre¬ 
hensive presentation of biblical teaching by arranging the 
lessons in such a way that the Old Testament may be read 
through once and the New Testament twice each year in 
public worship, provided worship is conducted daily. John 
Wesley provided for the same complete instruction in the 
“Sunday Service” which he arranged for American Meth¬ 
odists. This service has never been popular, however, and 
each pastor selects his own lessons. As a result there is no 
such symmetrical teaching of biblical doctrine through the 
reading of the Bible as is true of those churches which use 
a liturgy. To accomplish this without a liturgy the min¬ 
ister must give much more careful attention to the selection 
of his lessons than many do. 

To guard against a narrow range of choice, let a record be 
kept of all the lessons used during the year, and plan deliber¬ 
ately to read from the less familiar portions of the Bible as 
well as from the Psalms and the New Testament. Many 
in the congregation hear little, if any, Scripture outside the 
church service. 

How shall the lesson be read? Certainly not in the me¬ 
chanical fashion that too frequently mars Protestant wor¬ 
ship, whether liturgical or nonliturgical, nor dramatically 
after the manner of elocutionists. It is obvious that 
the reading should interest and instruct the congregation. 
Yet how rarely does it compel the attention of the wor¬ 
shipers ! It is essential, first of all, that the reader should 
re-create for himself in imagination the very thoughts and 
feelings which the author tried to express. This cannot be 
done except by much study of the lesson beforehand, study 
that will familiarize one with the circumstances under which 
the selection was written and reveal the purpose of the 
writer, awakening one’s sympathetic interest in that purpose. 
Suppose, for example, the minister should brood over Paul’s 


MATERIALS OF WORSHIP 


73 


defense before Agrippa until he sees before him the prisoner 
in chains, pleading in dignified and earnest fashion more 
for his cause than for himself, choosing carefully each word 
and arranging his argument with a view of making the best 
impression upon his judge, could he then recite that address 
in the lifeless or careless manner characteristic of many 
who read the Scriptures in public ? When the reader enters 
sympathetically into the thought and feeling of the writer, 
that fact will show itself in the inflections and modulations 
of the voice. The preacher who uses his imagination thus 
will unconsciously make the reading of the second lesson 
an event in every service, for he will interpret the Scripture 
in a way to be remembered, and that without interrupting 
the reading by comments of his own, “as the manner of 
some is.” 

At the beginning of the lesson, let the leader announce 
where it may be found. At the conclusion, let him announce 
simply, “Here ends the reading of the lesson.” To ex¬ 
claim, as some do, “May God add his blessing to the reading 
of his word,” is a pious affectation that grates upon the 
sensibilities of those who would avoid the appearance of 
unreality in worship. If the lesson shall have been read 
properly, be sure God will have already blessed it. If not, 
the reader has made it impossible for his prayer to be an¬ 
swered. 

On entering the pulpit, the “pulpit Bible” should be 
opened, even though one intends to read from his own per¬ 
sonal copy. This is the most important part of the fur¬ 
nishings of the church. It contains the truth which is to 
be read and interpreted by the minister. From it radiates 
the light which is to illuminate the minds and warm the 
hearts of all who worship. In recognition of that fact, let 
it be opened at least symbolically, and remain open until the 
conclusion of the service. 

2. Announcements. Nothing more seriously deflects 
the movement of thought and feeling in worship than a 
large number of announcements, especially if they are con- 


74 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


cerned mainly with the social affairs of the church. An 
ideal time to make them would be before the opening hymn. 
The late arrival of many who should hear them, however, 
makes it necessary to give them at a later time. The next 
best place is just before the offering. 

When it can be afforded, the church should publish all 
announcements in a weekly bulletin. This bulletin should 
never contain business advertisements. When they are 
thus printed, there is no need of doing more than to call 
the attention of the congregation to them in the briefest 
manner. Where a bulletin is not used, the leader should 
have the announcements sufficiently well in hand that he 
can state the essential facts about each one in the fewest 
possible sentences. It is always his privilege to edit notices 
in the interest of economy of time and the best good of the 
service. Circumstances should be very extraordinary to 
warrant taking more than four or five minutes for this part 
of the service. It is better to use only two or three. 

3. Offering. The offering need not retard the service, 
though some hypersensitive persons complain of it and seek 
a device which will do away with the necessity of mention¬ 
ing money in public worship. On the contrary, if it be truly 
an act of worship, performed in a religious atmosphere as 
an expression of genuine devotion to God and his church, 
it may enrich the service. Giving is the very essence of all 
worship, and as long as it shall be necessary to maintain 
Christian institutions, it will be a part of true worship to 
offer material as well as spiritual gifts in the place of prayer. 

It is customary for the leader to make the offering the 
concluding announcement. If it is to be devoted to some 
special cause, that fact may be stated briefly. Then let the 
collectors come in a quiet and orderly manner to the com¬ 
munion rail to receive the plates either from the leader or 
some one of their own number. The minister may recite 
one or two appropriate verses of Scripture on delivering 
the plates to the collectors. On their return, let the leader 
make a brief prayer of thanksgiving and consecration, plac- 


MATERIALS OF WORSHIP 


75 


ing the offering in some inconspicuous place within the 
chancel. If the plates are not to be returned, then the 
prayer should be made as they are distributed, the ushers 
waiting reverently until it is finished. The spirit of worship 
will be greatly stabilized if the organist shall play softly or 
a good soloist shall sing during this part of the service. 
Conducted in some such reverent manner, the offering can 
be made a genuine “means of grace.” 

The following are excellent models for the offertory 
prayer : 3 

Accept these our offerings, O God, we beseech Thee, which now 
we seek to dedicate to the service of Thy Holy Church, and grant 
us ever to have grateful hearts, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. 

Heavenly Father, Who hast given us all things richly to enjoy, 
graciously deign to receive these our gifts which now we lay upon 
Thine altar, and bless us both in the use and the giving of Thy 
mercies, for Jesus’ sake. 

O God, who dost teach us by this act of worship that it is more 
blessed to give than to receive, graciously accept these our offerings 
and give us the right spirit both in giving and receiving, through 
Jesus Christ, our Lord. 

In many churches the congregation consecrates the offer¬ 
ing by rising and chanting Number 740, The Methodist 
Hymnal: 

“All things come of thee, O Lord, 

And of thine own have we given thee.” 

Books Recommended for Further Study 

Arthur S. Hoyt, Public Worship in Non-Liturgical Churches. 

F. H. J. Newton, The Conduct of Public Worship, Chapters TV. 

S. S. Curry, Vocal and Literary Interpretation of the Bible. 

R. W. Rogers, Book of Old Testament Lessons for Public Read¬ 
ing in Churches. 

8 From A Pulpit Manual, by James Burns. Used by permission 
of The Pilgrim Press. 



CHAPTER VI 


Materials of Worship—Sermon and Benediction 

the sermon 

i. The History of Preaching. The sermon enjoyed no 
such unique distinction in the New Testament church as is 
accorded it in our time. In the beginning it was merely a 
footnote to the lesson or to a letter from some apostle which 
was read in the presence of the congregation—a short com¬ 
ment to clear up an obscure passage or an exhortation sug¬ 
gested by something in the reading. It does not appear to 
have been confined to an official class, but was a privilege 
open to any who cared to volunteer. After the apostolic 
age, however, the sermon took on new importance. It 
became a formal discourse, or oration, pronounced by pres¬ 
byters and bishops, and in the fourth century preaching even 
became popular as a kind of indoor sport. “Fashionable 
people in Constantinople, Alexandria, and Antioch, and hun¬ 
dreds of smaller towns, began to speak (so Chrysostom inti¬ 
mates) almost as enthusiastically about the favorite preacher 
of the hour as they spoke of the favorite horse in the races 
or the reigning actor in the theater.” 1 After this century 
the sermon declined in importance until the period of the 
crusades, which marks another high point in the history of 
preaching. Again there was a decline, until the Reforma¬ 
tion lifted the sermon once more to a place of overshadow¬ 
ing importance in public worship. This place it has suc¬ 
ceeded in holding until now among those peoples most 
profoundly affected by the Reformation. 

In a general way the curve of popularity in the history 
of preaching follows the line of keen theological interest. 

‘John A. Broadus, quoted by E. C. Dargan, History of Preaching, 
vol. ii, p. 64. 


76 



MATERIALS OF WORSHIP 


77 


The sermon became popular in periods of doctrinal dis¬ 
cussion because it was practically the only instrument avail¬ 
able for exposition and propaganda. At times other influ¬ 
ences affected it, such as imperial patronage, social favor, 
and the importance of rhetorical studies in education. But 
these are distinctly secondary to the doctrinal influence. 

Moreover, this curve follows the line of prophetic rather 
than priestly influence. In periods of calm, when doctrines 
and beliefs are fixed, the priest makes permanent ritualistic 
and ceremonial forms to contain them. Such instruction 
as he gives in worship is imparted chiefly through the sym¬ 
bolism of the service with which the congregation is fa¬ 
miliar. But when the prophet appears with his demand for 
a restatement of faith and a revitalizing of religious inter¬ 
est, the old symbols and ceremonials are inadequate. They 
do not say what he wants said. He has no choice but to use 
a new symbolism of words and speech to express his new 
thought, and resorts to the sermon. Where the priestly re¬ 
straints are too strong to be broken the prophet is silenced 
and the sermon all but disappears from worship, as in the 
Greek Church, in which preaching has had almost no his¬ 
tory since the days of Chrysostom. To a somewhat lesser 
extent this is true of the Roman Church and the “High 
Church” wing of the Anglican and Protestant Episcopal 
Churches. Not that these have produced no great preach¬ 
ers, but that the importance of the sermon is minimized in 
public worship. Where the prophet has his way, as in the 
evangelical communions, the sermon is exalted to a place of 
primacy in public worship, even to the point of “sermon- 
olatry.” 

2. Power in Preaching. As an instrument for express¬ 
ing faith and imparting truth, the sermon, ideally, will never 
be superseded. Evangelicals are right in feeling that a 
service is not quite finished in which there is no place for 
instruction or inspirational address. For a truth or a belief 
has little power to command others until it takes possession 
of a human life in such fashion that all instruments—word, 


78 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


gesture, intonation, eye, posture—cooperate to express orig¬ 
inally and creatively what is felt in the deep places of the 
spirit to be true. The printed Word is potent. But only 
the spoken word—“truth through personality”—ever be¬ 
comes omnipotent. 

Believing all this—(i) that the sermon is indispensable 
to the intellectual life of religion; (2) that it has achieved 
and safeguarded religious freedom and liberty; (3) and 
that, potentially, it is our finest agent for expressing and 
propagating faith—it must be recognized, nevertheless, that 
much which passes for preaching in our modern life fails 
to accomplish any of this, and the sermon is in disrepute 
to-day. As an act of worship the sermon must he religious. 
One of our great teachers of homiletics insists that much 
American preaching is not religious: 

“Power is absent from a large part of American preaching 
because that preaching is not religious. It is not essentially 
and vitally and experimentally religious. While we recog¬ 
nize much strong, noble preaching, for which we thank God 
and take courage, is there not also a large amount of preach¬ 
ing that could be put into the following categories, which 
are not mutually exclusive?—(1) an unconvincing evan¬ 
gelicalism—mere platitudes about redemptive doctrines 
without clear relation to human life; (2) a solemn pietism 
—conventional appeals for consecration and separation from 
the world; (3) a weak sentimentalism—pathetic stories, 
farfetched religious experiences, general unreality to the 
healthy-minded; (4) a dry intellectualism—mere discussion 
of subjects, the sort of thing that can be done better in a 
magazine; (5) a belated controversialism—fighting over old 
battles, tilting at windmills; (6) a shallow sensationalism— 
catching the crowd by the methods of the vaudeville and the 
yellow press, anything for notoriety; (7) a bumptious ego¬ 
tism—the minister carried away by the self-importance of 
his leadership, thrusting his views, his hobbies, his methods, 
himself, and even his family, upon public attention; (8) a 
shallow socialism—the use of the pulpit for the presentation 


MATERIALS OF WORSHIP 


79 


of particular economic theories and partisan views with no 
great human appeal. Some of these preachings gain large 
audiences, even fill up the membership of churches, even 
secure conversions and reformations of life, but their in¬ 
fluence taken as a whole is petty, cheapening to religion, and 
is not bringing God to men and lifting men to God. If all 
preaching were of such character, the days of the pulpit 
would be numbered.” 2 

Power in preaching has been defined as “such a presenta¬ 
tion of an intense religious conviction as shall tend to pro¬ 
duce in the congregation an emotional experience of that 
conviction.” The final test of a sermon as an act of worship 
is just this power to evoke a sympathetic response from 
those who hear it. Can the preacher make the congregation 
feel and think about the theme as he himself does? 

The problem here is much the same as in public prayer. 
This kind of power is conditioned chiefly by two things— 
(i) the degree to which the preacher has identified himself, 
in imagination at least, with the joys and sorrows, the vic¬ 
tories and defeats of his hearers, and (2) the sincerity with 
which he speaks the convictions of his own soul. A Sunday- 
school lad remarked after hearing a simple, straightforward 
account of the attempt of a Kentucky mountain college to 
teach mountain boys that the heroism of Jesus is nobler 
than revenge, “It does make a difference when you hear a 
man who really believes what he says.” Professor Soares 
asks, “Can it be that congregations are sometimes dismissed 
asking themselves, Does he mean it, or was he only preach¬ 
ing ?” 3 

3. The Technique of Preaching. Yet it is not wholly 
a matter of deep feeling and spirit. Many ministers who 
do not lack convictions, and who are intelligent and sincere, 
nevertheless are unable to preach effectively. They have 
not mastered the technique of preaching. This has to do 

"Reprinted by permission of The University of Chicago Press. 
University of Chicago Sermons, edited by T. G. Soares, p. 3 f* 

'Id., p. 6. 



8 o 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


with the materials, the form, and the manner of the sermon. 
Admittedly they are secondary to conviction and sincerity. 
Probably more preachers fail, however, in the former than 
the latter. A whole volume would be required to treat 
these matters adequately. We venture to emphasize here 
very briefly only those things which are related to the litur¬ 
gical values of the sermon. 

a. The Material of the Sermon. As an act of Christian 
worship, the sermon must express and interpret the Chris¬ 
tian experience of the race. The principal record of this 
experience is found in the Bible. To explain this book 
helpfully is the minister’s chief business. He is expected 
to understand it as perfectly as the lawyer should under¬ 
stand the law and the physician his medical science. Yet 
how rarely do ministers create the impression that their 
judgment on a biblical matter will be confirmed in the court 
of scholarly criticism ! Many reveal the fact that they know 
the English and American poets, that no popular books of 
fiction ever escape them, and that the Saturday Evening 
Post and, possibly, the Atlantic Monthly come regularly to 
their reading tables, but neither Hosea, nor Jeremiah, nor 
Amos, nor Isaiah, nor any other prophet becomes a living 
personality from anything they say. No one has ever 
preached commandingly who did not regard the Bible— 
its prayers, its biographies, its parables, its miracles, its 
poetry, its philosophy, its history, its letters—as his primary 
source of sermon material. In the profound religious ex¬ 
perience in which Ezekiel received his call to the prophetic 
office he was commanded to eat a hook (roll) in which was 
written the message he was to deliver—eat until he had 
filled himself with it! Could there be a more impressive 
dramatization of this idea that a preacher’s Bible is to be 
thoroughly masticated, digested, and assimilated? 

After the Bible, the next great record of Christian ex¬ 
perience is found in the doctrinal statements of the church. 
Unlike the biblical text, these are constantly changing in 
their outward form. To interpret them helpfully the min- 


MATERIALS OF WORSHIP 


81 


ister must know them in their history, and in their relations 
to the changing ideals of thought and life which modify 
them from age to age. To make sure that he covers the 
whole field of Christian teaching in the course of a year’s 
preaching, one should plan for himself some such calendar 
of themes as certain communions arbitrarily impose upon 
their clergymen—for example, the Protestant Episcopal 
Church. Otherwise he will overemphasize some truths and 
underemphasize, or neglect entirely, others equally im¬ 
portant. 

But it is a part of our Christian faith that God is still 
active in his world and in the hearts of men. We may know 
him at first hand for ourselves, and personally verify the 
findings of others, and add to them. Only as the minister 
thus lives again in his own experience the truths which 
others have affirmed can his preaching be self-revelation; 
and unless it is that, the sermon cannot be called worship. 
He will be interested, too, in the attempt of his contem¬ 
poraries to know God, and in their fresh descriptions of re¬ 
ligious experience. What latter-day poets, philosophers, 
essayists, and teachers of social ethics have to say about life 
and duty is legitimate sermonic material. One will gather 
the materials of preaching to little purpose, however, unless 
he is able to interpret them imaginatively. Masters of the 
art of ritualistic worship know well how to stir the imagina¬ 
tion by the use of symbols which appeal to the eye or the 
ear. As an act of worship the sermon must likewise stimu¬ 
late the imagination of the hearers, else it will have little 
power to affect their feelings and induce a worshipful mood. 
Who does not hold in memory a Scripture or a doctrine 
which once had no meaning but was made forever beauti¬ 
ful by a preacher who interpreted it with the simplicity and 
understanding that comes only from imagination? 

In emphasizing imagination as a primary source of power 
in preaching, we should distinguish imagination from fancy. 
The latter breaks with reality and is a source of danger. 
By it, the puerilities of the allegorical interpreter are per- 


82 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


petrated, who always is able to make the Scriptures say 
what he wishes them to say. On the contrary, the construc¬ 
tive imagination, while it transcends facts, never loses its 
contact with them. The imaginative interpreter proceeds 
by the historical method. He is anxious to discover, not his 
own mind, but that of the writer. 

As illustrating the difference between the two methods, 
contrast the fanciful with the imaginative way of interpret¬ 
ing the parable of the good Samaritan. The former as¬ 
sumes that every feature of the parable is a symbol filled 
with religious meaning. For example, the man who fell 
among thieves stands for Adam; the thieves were the devil 
and his angels; the priest and the Levite were the Mosaic 
dispensation; the good Samaritan was Christ; the beast 
on which the Samaritan rode was Christ’s human nature; 
the inn was the church; the two pennies paid to the inn¬ 
keeper represented the life that now is and that which is 
to come. A truly imaginative interpreter proceeds, how¬ 
ever, by inquiring what were the circumstances under 
which the parable was spoken. He finds that a young man 
had asked for a definition of the word “neighbor.” “Who 
is my neighbor?” he inquired, and Jesus replied with this 
story of a neighbor in action in which it appears that neigh¬ 
borliness is not a matter of geography, nor race, nor patri¬ 
otism, nor religion, but of mere human interest on the basis 
of human need. This is what Jesus put into the parable 
and this is what the imaginative preacher takes out. The 
allegorist misses it entirely. 

b. The Form of the Sermon. Imagination is important, 
too, in expressing one’s insights, as well as in discovering 
them. It frequently happens that of two sermons equally 
above criticism as to materials, one will have power to com¬ 
mand the interest of the congregation that the other lacks. 
Quite generally the explanation will be found in the literary 
form of the respective sermons. One preacher is a master 
in the art of organizing his material; the other is not. The 
first expresses his thought clearly from the opening sen- 


MATERIALS OF WORSHIP 


83 


tence, and before six sentences have been spoken the con¬ 
gregation knows exactly what theme is to be discussed. In 
thirty minutes he has said (1) this, and (2) that, and (3) 
a third specific thing about the theme. Everything is easily 
grasped. It requires no effort to listen. Indeed, one can¬ 
not help listening. There are no digressions of thought. 
Nothing is put into the sermon which does not contribute 
directly to the main stream of interest. No stories are told 
for their own sake. No poetry is quoted to display the 
preacher’s acquaintance with the poets. If poetry is used, 
it is because some singer has said what the preacher needed 
to say at a certain point better than he can possibly do. All 
is compactly arranged and expressed simply and clearly. 
The sermon is a single organism, a perfect unity, and easily 
remembered. 

The other sermon is a multiplicity, a heterogeneous col¬ 
lection of statements, sentiments, poetry, and historical 
references gathered from everywhere with no inner coher¬ 
ence holding them together. If there is a main line of 
thought, it is difficult to find it; or finding it, to hold it, for 
irrelevant matter is constantly introduced which diverts at¬ 
tention from the principal subject. Only by a conscious 
effort of will is the attention fastened upon the sermon at 
all. To carry away more than a fragment of such a sermon 
would require superhuman power. Yet these very same 
materials, organized more perfectly, would make a worth¬ 
while utterance. And the only difference would be in the 
literary form. Some one has remarked that while an 
arrow and an ordinary stick of wood may be made of ex¬ 
actly the same material, one may be hurled from a bow 
very much farther than the other. This difference in carry¬ 
ing power is due entirely to the difference in their respective 
shapes. One was formed to go far, cleaving the air with a 
minimum of resistance, and the other was not. And that 
explains the difference in the carrying power of sermons. 

Everything which has to do with literary style should re¬ 
ceive the most conscientious consideration of the preacher 


8 4 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


throughout his ministerial life. Synonyms should be 
studied with a view of enlarging the vocabulary and using 
words more accurately. A sermon should be written com¬ 
pletely each week, not with a view of reading from the 
manuscript, but for the drill of composing sentences which 
will express clearly and forcibly the exact thought that is 
in mind. The dictionary should always be at hand as one 
reads, and no unfamiliar word should ever be permitted to 
escape until its meaning is known. In planning the sermon 
as a whole one must keep in mind the great principles of 
literary composition which control all forms of effective 
discourse, whether spoken or written; namely, (i) unity, 
(2) coherence, and (3) orderly development toward a 
climax of thought and feeling. 

One would do well to read each year a good treatise on 
English composition to keep his ideas of style constantly 
fresh. Such a volume would be much more helpful than 
most of the textbooks on homiletics. 

c. The Manner of the Sermon . Though subordinate to 
material and form, the manner of the sermon is neverthe¬ 
less highly important. Everyone can recall a public ad¬ 
dress which was ruined by awkwardness and self-conscious¬ 
ness on the part of the speaker; by action that was un¬ 
restrained or too much restrained; by a voice too big or too 
small; by pitch too high or too low, or that did not vary. 
These technical matters cannot be treated here at length. 
We may emphasize only their importance. This is illus¬ 
trated in George Whitefield, who is said to have been able 
to make a congregation weep by the way in which he pro¬ 
nounced the single word, “Mesopotamia.” If that story be 
legendary, it is beyond all doubt true that a popular living 
American preacher produces the most astounding effects on 
the nervous systems of his hearers by the modulations and 
flexibility of his voice. Another distinguished clergyman 
puts himself under the tutelage of a teacher of public speak¬ 
ing for a short period every year to correct bad habits of 
speech and action which he may have fallen into uncon- 


MATERIALS OF WORSHIP 


85 


seiously. Every minister could wisely take himself in hand 
at this point. Ideally he should take a course of training 
under a competent instructor. If that is impossible, he may 
do much for himself by following the suggestions of such 
a text as C. Edmund Neil’s Sources of Effectiveness in 
Public Speaking. 

d. The Length of the Sermon. Since the sermon is only 
one of many elements in public worship, all of which must 
cooperate to produce a designed effect, the question of its 
proportionate length is important. Certainly it should never 
take more than half the time available for the whole service. 
Generally it should take less. More time must be spent in 
careful preparation if one is to preach only twenty minutes 
than if forty are at his disposal. But the appreciation of 
the congregation will be correspondingly greater. 

4. The Benediction. The manner in which the service 
of worship is concluded will determine largely whether or 
not the impression made during worship is to be permanent 
to any degree. It is possible to dismiss the people in such a 
fashion that the results of the service shall be dissipated be¬ 
fore they leave the church. The Methodist Order of Wor¬ 
ship provides that the sermon shall be followed by prayer, 
the people kneeling, and this by a congregational hymn, the 
people standing. In a footnote it is suggested that this order 
of prayer and song may be reversed. If an invitation is to 
be given at the close of the service to unite with the church 
or confess discipleship, it is better to have the prayer pre¬ 
cede the hymn, giving the invitation when the hymn is an¬ 
nounced. In that event the Doxology may be sung and the 
benediction given, the people standing after the candidates 
have been received. If the invitation is omitted, or given 
during the hymn before the sermon, then the sermon may 
well be followed immediately by a hymn, the people stand¬ 
ing, and this by a prayer, the people kneeling or sitting in a 
prayerful attitude. The value of this prayer will be in¬ 
creased if the congregation shall pray silently for a moment 
before the leader shall voice their collective prayer. If this 


86 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


order be observed, the benediction should be given while 
minister and people are in the position of prayer. 

It should be remembered always that the benediction is 
a part of worship, and not merely a signal that worship is 
finished. The apostolic benediction 5 prescribed in our order 
is a wonderful prayer that minister and people together 
may continually experience the redeeming power of Jesus 
Christ, and be constantly aware of God’s love for men, 
and walk in never-ending fellowship with the Holy Spirit. 
To recite this prayer mechanically is to make only a mo¬ 
tion for the congregation to depart. Rendered in this way, 
it has no religious value whatever. But pronounced thought¬ 
fully and reverently, it becomes the great prayer of the serv¬ 
ice, gathering up all lesser petitions into one final request 
for the highest blessing, fixing in the last moment the 
thought of the people upon the Great God in whom they 
live and move and have their being, and to know whom is 
eternal life. 

5. The Ushers. A most important post in the service 
of worship is that filled by the ushers, who are in charge of 
all matters which pertain to the physical comfort of the 
congregation. They should greet the people cordially, 
though quietly, as they enter the church, not with the pro¬ 
fessional air of a butler or theater attendant, but in the 
spirit of a man welcoming a guest to his own home. If a 
stranger enters, and time permits, the usher will ask a few 
courteous questions. If there is a choice of seats, he will 
ask the worshiper what his preference may be. At the com¬ 
munion service, the ushers may helpfully direct the move¬ 
ment of communicants to and from the chancel so that there 
may be no crowding or confusion. They will see to it that 
no belated worshipers take their seats during any act of 
worship, whether prayer, or anthem, or lesson, but only 
between these. They are the “aides” of the pastor for 
special errands. If the ventilation needs attention, the 
pastor should signal an usher to attend to it —not leave 


*2 Cor. 13. 14. 



MATERIALS OF WORSHIP 


87 


the pulpit himself. If a visiting minister is seen unex¬ 
pectedly in the congregation and the pastor desires his 
presence in the pulpit, whenever possible let him send his 
message by an usher. Once he enters the pulpit, the pastor 
should stay there until the service is over. The ushers 
should be elected by the official board, and where there are 
several, one should be “chief usher,” directing the work of 
all the rest. That none may be overburdened, one set of 
ushers may serve at the morning service and another at 
the evening. In some churches the ushers are regularly or¬ 
ganized and have delightful social occasions together. 

Books Recommended for Further Study 

A. E. Garvie, The Christian Preacher. 

Charles S. Gardner, Psychology and Preaching. 

D. J. Burrell, The Sermon. 

L. O. Brastow, The Modern Pulpit. 

H. W. Beecher, Yale Lectures on Preaching. 

Phillips Brooks, Yale Lectures on Preaching. 

W. F. McDowell, Yale Lectures on Preaching. 

S. Parkes Cadman, Ambassadors of God. 

F. J. McConnell, The Preacher and the People. 

C. Edmund Neil, Sources of Effectiveness in Public Speaking. 

P. T. Forsyth, Positive Preaching and the Modern Mind, Lec¬ 
ture III. 

Charles R. Brown, The Art of Preaching. 


CHAPTER VII 


THE SUNDAY EVENING SERVICE 

Twenty-five years ago Washington Gladden wrote: “In 
America, at least, the problem of the evening service is one 
of considerable difficulty. ... In most of our churches the 
service is thinly attended, and the question of its main¬ 
tenance weighs heavily on the minds of the pastors. Where 
it has not been abandoned, various devices have been re¬ 
sorted to for increasing the congregation—praise services, 
musical services, spectacular services with lanterns, and 
such like.” 1 

The problem has become much more difficult in the time 
that has elapsed since this distinguished pastor complained 
thus. Then the automobile was still a curiosity which thou¬ 
sands had never yet seen, not the familiar possession of 
every third family even in rural communities. Nor had the 
moving-picture industry yet made the theater the chief so¬ 
cial and recreational center in every hamlet. When 
Gladden wrote, only pastors in cities were worried about 
the Sunday-night service. Now every country pastor, as 
well, anxiously considers what can be done to offset the 
enticements of the “auto” and “movie.” And the same two 
conclusions are still reached. An increasing number de¬ 
cide to abandon the service, while another growing multi¬ 
tude feverishly attempt to enhance its attractiveness by 
spectacular features, some legitimate and some highly ques¬ 
tionable. He is rash indeed who presumes to dogmatize 
about that which is confusing to many. Nevertheless, there 
is always need to keep before us certain ideals whose va¬ 
lidity is undisputed with reference to this service. 

i. The success of a service of worship is not to be meas- 


1 Op. cit., p. 121. Used by permission of Charles Scribner’s Sons. 

88 



THE SUNDAY EVENING SERVICE 


89 


ured chiefly by the number of persons present. Great mul¬ 
titudes are seldom very important in religion. Let us be re¬ 
minded often that Jesus was content to do his work with a 
small group and that he deliberately sought to keep his con¬ 
gregations from becoming “great.” Like Gideon, he seemed 
to regard a crowd as an embarrassment. Their unwieldi¬ 
ness, their instability, their fickleness, their irresponsibility, 
their quick response to an appeal to prejudice, their inabil¬ 
ity to think deeply or with discrimination make it impossible 
for mere numbers ever to give worth or distinction to a 
congregation. Catholics and Protestant Episcopalians, for 
whom the size of the congregation makes little difference 
in the success of the mass or the communion service, have 
much to teach non-liturgical churches in this matter. Of 
course, one must guard against complacency and content¬ 
ment with inferior achievement. The normal pastor will 
covet as large a congregation as possible. His motive, how¬ 
ever, will not be to get a crowd for its own sake, but to ren¬ 
der spiritual service to all for whom he has responsibility. 
When this motive is in the ascendant one will not be unduly 
elated, or depressed, by the size of the congregation, if only 
the service itself shall possess inspirational value for those 
who are present. Let us not ask, “How many came?” 
but, “What was done for those who came ?” 

2. The function of the church is very different from that 
of the theater. Comparisons between the size of theater 
audiences and church congregations are not very impres¬ 
sive. For it is impossible to contrast things that have no 
common resemblance. The chief justification for the 
theater is that it provides for relaxation through amusement. 
But amusement is distinctly not the primary business of 
the church. Services should be beautiful and interesting 
indeed, but they are not conducted to entertain the congre¬ 
gation. One goes to the theater to “let down.” He goes 
to the church for instruction and worship, and this requires 
creative effort of the highest sort—the very opposite from 
letting down. The “movie’' makes no demand upon one’s 


90 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


intellectual or volitional powers. The church taxes these 
faculties to the utmost. In the nature of the case the church 
can never be popular with that large element in the com¬ 
munity which has little power to refresh itself from within 
and is drawn as by a magnet to that in its environment 
which promises the most excitement and the greatest num¬ 
ber of thrills. Whenever the church resorts to the methods 
of the theater to “get a crowd,” a distinct loss of respect 
usually follows; first, because the community feels that 
the church either does not understand its own peculiar 
mission or has lost confidence in it; and, second, because the 
theatrical manager is very much more expert in the show 
business than is the average pastor. It would seem to be 
better policy every way for the church to spend its strength 
on its legitimate task than to attempt to brighten its services 
by features that are purely diverting or amusing. Gladden’s 
findings twenty-five years ago have been confirmed, on the 
whole, by the experiments of thousands of perplexed pas¬ 
tors and official boards since: “It is not to the aesthetic 
nature that the services of the church make their appeal; 
and the moment it becomes evident that pleasure, no matter 
of how refined a sort, has been exalted in those services 
above serious thought, the power and the glory of the 
church are gone.” 2 It may be that on week days some 
church will conclude that a part of its task is to provide 
amusement, but “the use of its Sunday night services for 
this purpose is nothing less than the prostitution of a high 
office.” 

3. The feeling prevails that it is generally unwise to con¬ 
duct two services of exactly the same type on the same day. 
This suggests that the Sunday-evening service should vary 
in its aim and method from the morning service . The lat¬ 
ter should be more dignified and worshipful. The former 
may well be less stately, brighter in color, more rapid in 
action, and, while maintaining an atmosphere of worship, 


2 0 p cit., p. 122, 



THE SUNDAY EVENING SERVICE 


9i 


featuring certain matters as a rule unprovided for in the 
morning service. 

In every church there are persons thinking seriously upon 
the subject of personal religion, but who have never made 
public confession of their discipleship. These should have 
frequent opportunity to declare themselves before the con¬ 
gregation, and a service should be provided with an at¬ 
mosphere warm with expectation in which they are frankly 
encouraged to make their decisions at once. To serve such 
the Sunday-evening service should often be made evangel¬ 
istic. It may be the part of wisdom to do this without 
elaborate announcement beforehand, but let it be done as 
frequently as the leader feels there is any strong probability 
that anyone present would be glad for such an opportunity. 

There is an important educational service expected of the 
ministry at this time when the area of ethical obligation is 
widening to include the field of social as well as private 
relationships; and the Sunday-evening service, better than 
any other, can be devoted frequently to this purpose. No 
subjects are more fascinating to the present generation. 
And all come well within the scope of the minister’s busi¬ 
ness, for all sustain a vital relation to the spiritual life. 
Needless to say, “preaching of this kind makes unusual de¬ 
mands upon the intelligence of a minister.” He has no 
right to speak until he has prepared himself thoroughly. 
But the preacher who intelligently applies the great Chris¬ 
tian ideals to the problems of industry, poverty, vice, de¬ 
linquency, education, government, etc., keeping clearly in 
view all the while their religious bearings, will show him¬ 
self a workman who has no need to be ashamed, and at the 
same time will find a way to make the service attractive 
without making it merely amusing. 

It does not follow that the Sunday-evening service should 
be converted into a “forum” for the presentation of these 
subjects from every point of view. The forum, as popu¬ 
larly known, while ethical, is not necessarily religious. Its 
atmosphere is one of debate rather than worship. There 


92 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


should be a place where every community may assemble to 
do what is done in the forum. But wherever possible it is 
wiser to meet in a public hall than a church. If the church 
is the only available meeting place, the forum should be 
held at some other than an hour set apart for worship. 

Interpreting in modern terms the great doctrines of Chris¬ 
tianity is also a part of the educational task of the minister. 
Neglect of this matter has resulted in filling our churches 
with a generation of Christians who neither know what to 
believe, nor why. Any babbler, with a positive air, can 
disturb them. The blame must fall upon a ministry which 
forgot to expound in untechnical language the fundamentals 
of Christian belief—the doctrines of God, sin, redemption, 
immortality, biblical inspiration, revelation, and infallibility, 
and the like. Nothing will give stability to faith except 
clear thinking on these high themes, and for leadership in 
this the church has a right to look to the minister. Within 
recent months a “summer preacher” filled one of the most 
famous Methodist churches on warm Sunday evenings by 
preaching a series of sermons on these substantial and 
presumably unpopular subjects. A few years ago another 
preacher in another city maintained a strong Sunday-eve¬ 
ning service throughout a whole summer by interpreting 
the message of one of the Old Testament prophets. Still 
another found that an unsuspected number were interested 
in Christian biography, as he spoke helpfully concerning the 
great personalities in modern church history. The experi¬ 
ence of these preachers opens the way for believing that 
when the minister addresses himself earnestly and intelli¬ 
gently to the educational phase of his task, so far as it con¬ 
cerns his pulpit utterances, that fact will be appreciated by 
many. 

4. Clearly, the maintenance of the Sunday-evening service 
calls for the most conscientious labor. It has failed often 
because it has had only fragments of time for preparation 
that remained after the minister had exhausted himself on 
the morning service. It is not well attended in many in- 


THE SUNDAY EVENING SERVICE 


93 


stances because it is not worth attending. The pastor must 
find a way to keep himself physically fresh for this service. 
A tired man is incapable of inspiring leadership. And he 
must keep fresh mentally. Study, study, study must be the 
dominant passion of his life! How to do it all in view of 
the manifold demands upon his time may be a very great 
problem. But he must find a way or suffer the consequence 
—that is, a devitalized evening service. And the way may 
be found by the minister who puts his mind into his work. 

Books Recommended for Further Study 

Washington Gladden, The Christian Pastor, Chapter VI. 

L. H. Bugbee, Living Leaders Judged by Christian Standards. 

H. S. Coffin, Some Christian Convictions. 

C. E. Jefferson, Things Fundamental. 


CHAPTER VIII 


MID-WEEK SERVICES 

Many Catholic and Protestant Episcopalian churches are 
open every day that individual worshipers may enter for 
rest and prayer. Some provide, in addition, one or more 
services of worship daily. The so-called evangelical 
churches, however, usually maintain but one service between 
Sundays, designated variously as the “midweek service,” 
or the “prayer meeting,” or the “social meeting.” The 
service, as a rule, is not largely attended. Because of this, 
it is considered quite as much a problem as the Sunday¬ 
evening service. As with the evening service, the first long 
step toward the solution of the problem is to understand 
clearly the proper function of the service. 

i. Two great reasons appear to justify a midweek meet¬ 
ing for the church. The first is the need of individual 
Christians for frequent conference concerning the spiritual 
life. Among Methodists this need has dominated the 
service so completely that only the name “prayer meeting” 
accurately describes its nature. Very properly it differs 
greatly from the more formal services of the Sabbath. The 
leader usually is the pastor, or one whom he has selected, 
who gives direction to the meeting without too much in¬ 
sistence upon a prescribed order. The customary features 
of the service are songs, prayers, a Scripture lesson, a brief 
address, and testimonies. The notable fact about the 
meeting is its democracy. The songs, while “congrega¬ 
tional,” are frequently chosen by persons in the audience; 
the prayers are generally extemporaneous prayers by the 
laity, both men and women; and the testimonies, having to 
do with the inner aspirations and longings, or failures and 
defeats, are made by devout men and women. 

94 





MID-WEEK SERVICES 


95 


Non-Methodists are sharply aware of the weakness of 
this service. Of the “testimony meeting” Gladden writes, 
“Such a recital, if modestly and honestly made, by persons 
who are living serious lives, might often have great value; 
but it is greatly to be feared that those whose lives are most 
serious are least inclined to give absolutely truthful reports 
of their own spiritual states; and of that which is most in¬ 
timate and vital it is hardly possible to tell the story. The 
danger is that ‘experience meetings’ will degenerate into a 
recital of well-worn phrases which represent no real facts 
of the inner life. The mischief of such insincerity must be 
very great. When one who has scarcely thought of spiritual 
things during the week—his mind having been wholly ab¬ 
sorbed in the pleasures and strifes of the world—goes into 
the weekly meeting and fluently expresses his deep interest 
in the great things of the Kingdom, and testifies that he is 
making steady progress in the religious life, the injury to 
his own character must be deep, and the effect upon the 
minds of those who know him well, most unhappy. To this 
insincerity the cut-and-dried experience-meeting affords a 
strong temptation. Everyone is expected to give some ac¬ 
count of his own spiritual condition, and no one likes to give 
a discouraging report. It is too easy to assume a virtue 
which one does not possess, and to avow an interest which 
is optative rather than actual.” 1 It is only fair to say that 
this does not represent Gladden’s whole thought of this type 
of service. In other connections he is very appreciative. 
Many Methodists will thank him, however, for his criticism, 
for he expresses precisely what they feel, yet hardly dare 
to say. If the prayer meeting could be rescued from the 
control of “ignorant, effusive, opinionated persons, who 
have no wisdom to impart and no inspiration to convey, . . . 
who only succeed in gratifying their own vanity or in con¬ 
firming their own delusions, while they irritate and disgust 
the sensible people who listen to them,” doubtless thought¬ 
ful and substantial people would attend in larger numbers. 

1 Op. ext., p. 241 f. Used by permission of Charles Scribner’s Sons. 



9 6 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


This constitutes the great problem of the prayer meeting— 
to save it from the “prayer-meeting killer,” and make it a 
source of spiritual power for the whole church, without 
destroying its democratic character or changing it into a 
pale imitation of a Sunday service. 

That the prayer meeting has survived the strain put upon 
it by its weak, ignorant, insincere, and sometimes Phari¬ 
saical friends, suggests strongly that it is well designed to 
serve a fundamental need of the religious life. That need 
is found in the demand for verbal expression which is made 
by a genuine religious experience. The redeemed of the 
Lord ever have felt impelled to say so. Whenever God be¬ 
comes very real, and the soul is filled with a sense of power, 
joy, and safety, from conscious fellowship with the Infinite, 
the lips will not be restrained. An attempt to suppress the 
feeling only turns it into a “fire in the bones” which threat¬ 
ens to consume one. If any fear that immodesty attaches 
to the expression of such intimate emotions, let Horace 
Bushnell, who cannot be accused of Methodist fervor, re¬ 
assure them: “No one ever thinks it a matter of delicacy, 
or genuine modesty, to entirely suppress any reasonable joy; 
least of all, any fit testimony of gratitude toward a deliv¬ 
erer for deliverance. ... In the same simple way, all am¬ 
bition apart, all conceit of self forgot, all artificial and mock 
modesty excluded, it will be the instinct of everyone who 
loves God to acknowledge him .” 2 And not only is testi¬ 
mony essential to him who knows the “joy of salvation,” 
but it is exceedingly helpful and interesting to those who 
hear, provided only that the note of reality appears all 
the way through. So long as the recital is simple, clear, 
and unaffected, having to do only with that which the 
speaker himself has verified or is trying to verify in Chris¬ 
tian experience, it has power to encourage the hesitant and 
faltering as almost nothing else does. 

It should be said that there is no special virtue in num- 

a In Sermons for the New Life, quoted by Gladden, op. cit., p. 
247. 



MID-WEEK SERVICES 


9 7 


bers of testimonies as such. One testimony of the right 
sort is worth many of the mechanical, rapid-fire, sentence- 
testimonies so much in vogue in young people’s meetings. 
And this applies to prayers as well as testimonies. They 
are too fragmentary and too lacking in reflection to be very 
valuable. On the other hand, there is little profit in the 
words of one or two individuals, blessed with “the gift of 
continuance,” who take all the time available for this part 
of the service. 

After sincerity and reality, the average prayer meeting 
is in sore need of improvement at the point of its music. 
The songs, of course, should be simple, but they may be 
that without being silly and inane. It is not too much to 
say that a thoughtful Christian cannot join in the singing 
in many prayer meetings and keep his self-respect. There 
is an abundance of music in the Methodist Hymnal beauti¬ 
fully adapted to prayer-meeting purposes. One will lose 
nothing in passing by entirely all compilations which were 
prepared with an eye more open to the commercial profits of 
the publisher than the spiritual edification of the worshipers. 
“The vulgarization of the tastes and the depravation of the 
sentiments of worshipers through the use of sensational and 
sentimental prayer-meeting hymns and tunes has been a 
grave injury to religion in America.” 

And after the music, the next great need of many a 
prayer meeting is more conscientious consideration on the 
part of the pastor. If he does not regard it as deserving of 
his time and thought in planning and preparation, he cannot 
reasonably expect it to be attractive. In any case, scolding 
the people because they do not attend is not likely to draw 
them. Make the service as helpful and attractive in itself 
as possible, invite the congregation pleasantly and cordially, 
and then believe that where even two or three are gathered 
together in Christ's name , Christ himself will be in the midst. 
And those who do attend will always be glad to go again. 

2. The second fact to justify a midweek service arises 
in connection with the work of the church as a corporate 


9 8 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


body. Larger use of the prayer meeting to serve this need 
has redeemed several midweek services in a notable manner. 
The work of the church requires trained lay leadership. 
The membership generally is uninformed concerning the 
great community problems—philanthropy, public health, 
education, industry, etc.—and the proper relation of the 
church toward them. The missionary task, at home and 
abroad, is unfamiliar. The Christian Bible is unknown, 
except in the most superficial way, to most Christians. 
These facts, and others, make imperative demands for con¬ 
sideration. When and how may the church intelligently ad¬ 
dress itself to them? There is no better occasion than the 
midweek service. So “Prayer-Meeting Night” has become 
“Church-Training Night” in many churches. The congre¬ 
gation assembles for supper at half-past six, coming directly 
from their daily labor. An hour is devoted to the meal and 
social fellowship. This is followed by three quarters of an 
hour of praise, prayer, and testimony. The company then 
breaks up into several study groups, the Sunday-school 
workers to consider their problems, the Epworth Leaguers 
theirs, others for Bible study, still others for mission study, 
and yet others for the consideration of community matters, 
each for another three quarters of an hour. The whole 
program is completed in two hours and a half. It is easy 
to see how prayer-meeting night might thus become a real 
event in the life of the church. 

This kind of program, of course, requires careful plan¬ 
ning. The most important matter is the leadership of the 
several classes. No groups should be organized which can¬ 
not be provided with competent guides. Where the whole 
number is small, the pastor himself may take charge of 
them during the study hour as a single group, considering 
now one and now another subject. Some such combination 
of worship with instruction can be effected in any church, 
large or small. A few who do not like innovations may 
complain at first, but even they will be won at last by the 
success of the plan. 


MID-WEEK SERVICES 


99 


3. The class meeting, as a formal organization, has all 
but disappeared from American Methodism. This fact is 
an occasion for dismay to some, while others, of equal piety, 
regard it as natural and inevitable. It came into existence 
to serve a specific need, but in these days of complex or¬ 
ganization, when other agencies do its work, it is no longer 
vital to the life of the church. In the beginning Methodism 
was only a “movement” within the Anglican Church. All 
Methodists were Anglicans, though not all Anglicans were 
Methodists—only that portion of them who were stirred by 
Wesley’s interpretation of the doctrines of Christian experi¬ 
ence, such as justification, regeneration, assurance, and 
sanctification. These came together in their respective com¬ 
munities for mutual counsel and fellowship after Wesley 
or his preachers had gone. One of the number was ap¬ 
pointed to receive the contributions of the group for the 
support of the movement. Gradually this leader became a 
kind of subpastor charged with responsibility for the 
spiritual care of the society between the rare visits of a 
“traveling preacher.” Throughout Wesley’s lifetime “the 
class” was the unit of his movement, and the class leader 
was as important as the modern pastor. 

Likewise for many years in America “the class” and “the 
class leader” were indispensable elements in the life of the 
church. There were no “settled” pastors, such as Con- 
gregationalists and Presbyterians knew—only “itinerant 
preachers” each of whom was in reality a bishop or super¬ 
intendent who supervised a large number of classes grouped 
together into a “circuit,” called his “pastoral charge.” 
Though he traveled constantly, the preacher could visit each 
“point” on his circuit only a few times each year. Mean¬ 
time he must depend upon the local class leader for that 
intimate pastoral oversight which settled ministers gave in 
other communions. And between visits of the preacher, 
this leader, chosen for his piety and good judgment, would 
meet the class weekly for prayer, interchange of experi¬ 
ence, exhortation, and advice. Out of this simple form 


100 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


grew the complex organization known as the Methodist 
Episcopal Church. 

To-day the “circuit system” is being rapidly abandoned. 
At best it was only a makeshift, justified by the poverty of 
the settlers and the inability of the church to serve other¬ 
wise a rapidly advancing and widely scattered population. 
The ideal of the present is to appoint a trained pastor for 
each church just as rapidly as the individual churches be¬ 
come able to support them. Thus the pastor takes the place 
once held by the class leader, and under him a rather ex¬ 
tensive corps of lay officials in charge of the several organ¬ 
izations within the church. The weekly prayer meeting 
affords the opportunity for spiritual culture once provided 
by the class meeting. The Finance Committee and the col¬ 
lectors receive the gifts of the people. So that, all in all, 
it would appear that the spiritual nurture of the member¬ 
ship of the church is adequately provided for, even though 
the class meeting has ceased to function in its old-time way. 

Recently the class-meeting idea was revived in the so- 
called “unit system,” which requires that every member of 
the church be assigned to a group of ten or twelve. One in 
the group is appointed “unit leader,” and he, in turn, as¬ 
signs responsibility to other members for particular tasks. 
For example, one will distribute missionary literature, an¬ 
other will be stewardship secretary, and yet another will 
propagate the life-service idea. This was the class meeting 
galvanized into new life for a special emergency. The un¬ 
wieldiness of the organization, however, prevents it being 
popular in a church already elaborately organized, now 
that the emergency has passed. The real “class” in Meth¬ 
odism to-day is the Sunday-school class, and the “class 
leader,” the Sunday-school teacher, who has all the respon¬ 
sibility of the former leader and more. 

In a few churches what is called “the class” in the older 
sense meets weekly, generally on Sunday before morning 
worship. This has great value for those who attend in pre¬ 
paring the mind and heart for the service which follows. 




MID-WEEK SERVICES' 


ioi 


It is likewise helpful to the pastor, who knows that this 
group of devout persons support him sympathetically as 
they pray. 

4. The Epworth League came into being a third of a 
century ago to render a manifold service to the young life 
of the church. Within that period, the organized Bible 
class has made its appearance and now undertakes in many 
churches much of the work formerly done by the League. 
Nothing, however, has superseded the League as an instru¬ 
ment for devotional culture among young people. If it does 
no more in the local church, at least it conducts a young 
people’s prayer meeting, sometimes midweek, but more 
generally on Sunday evenings. Here immature believers 
receive most valuable training in expressing religious ex¬ 
perience and in leading religious meetings. Besides this, 
the general organization conducts several score of Summer 
Institutes in every part of the country each year where 
delegates from almost every church are trained in the art 
of lay leadership. No society in the church is doing more 
to make an effective church in the future than the Epworth 
League. The wise pastor will bend every effort to secure 
a large attendance from his church at these summer con¬ 
ferences. 


Books Recommended for Further Study 

Committee on Conservation and Advance (pamphlet), Church 
Training Night. 

Dan B. Brummitt, The Efficient Epworthian. 

Luccock and Cook, The Mid-Week Service. 


CHAPTER IX 


LITURGICAL SERVICES 

There are occasional services of such nature and im¬ 
portance that the church has prescribed in great detail the 
lessons, prayers, and addresses which shall be used. Of 
course these are not commanded in the sense that a min¬ 
ister would be brought to trial for disregarding them, but 
it is expected that he shall use them in conducting the serv¬ 
ices for which they are designed, and any unauthorized de¬ 
parture therefrom is more likely to offend than commend 
itself to good taste. The originality of the minister may 
better show itself in filling these forms with life and power 
than by changing them. 

The ritual is for the most part adapted from the Book 
of Common Prayer of the Anglican Church. Its history 
carries back directly to the First Prayer Book of Edward 
VI, which was generally used for the first time on June 8, 
1549. This book was the work of the English National 
Church under Archbishop Cranmer when the leadership 
of the bishop of Rome was repudiated. The aim was to 
compile a Service Book from materials long in possession 
of the church, which would be free from the false doctrines 
and superstitious practices which characterized the several 
Roman liturgies in common use in England, and which 
would be in the language of the people rather than Latin. 
The book has been revised a number of times, but the pres¬ 
ent Book of Common Prayer is substantially the same as 
the First Book of Edward. John Wesley admired this 
liturgy greatly. The “Sunday Service” which he prepared 
for American Methodists is but an abbreviation of the 
Prayer Book. In the preface to that service he wrote: 
“I believe there is no liturgy in all the world, either in an- 

102 


LITURGICAL SERVICES 


103 


dent or modern language, which breathes more of a solid, 
scriptural, rational piety than the Common Prayer of the 
Church of England. And though the main part of it was 
compiled more than two hundred years ago, 1 yet is the lan¬ 
guage of it not only pure, but strong and elegant in the 
highest degree. Little alteration is made in the following 
edition of it.” In the use of these forms, crudities and 
carelessness of administration destroy their value, and every 
minister should learn to conduct them with such grace that 
the congregation will be impressed with a proper sense of 
their beauty and worth. 

1. Baptism. Baptism is recognized as a sacrament by 
all evangelical Protestant bodies except the Friends. Chris¬ 
tianity adapted the rite from the Hebrews, who in common 
with other Semitic peoples used water freely in symbolic 
washings in worship. The act of baptism represents the 
Spirit of God as cleansing and renewing the spirit of man. 
At the same time it marks those who are included in the 
Christian fellowship, the church, and has done so from 
New Testament times. We do not believe in baptismal re¬ 
generation. The rite merely recognizes the inward action 
of the Spirit which takes place independently of the out¬ 
ward washing. 

Three modes of baptism are recognized by Methodists 
as equally valid—immersion, sprinkling, and pouring. Since 
one is admitted into the church once for all, this rite is to 
be performed but once in the lifetime of a Christian, though 
we have no patience with the extreme teaching that “the 
act can never be repeated without sacrilege.” 2 Since it is 
a sign of admission into the church, the proper place for 
the service is in the church, though, of course, it may be 
performed elsewhere whenever the circumstances seem to 
warrant. The real church is found where two or more be¬ 
lievers are met together in Christ’s name. Methodists make 
no attempt to justify baptism by unordained laymen because 

1 Wesley wrote this in 1784- 

J E. L. Temple, The Church in the Prayer Book, p. 247. 



104 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


they do not regard the performance of the rite as essential 
to redemption. They find it impossible to believe that the 
guilt or innocence of the soul is determined by this outward 
washing. 

Two forms of the service are provided—one for infants 
and small children, and the other for persons of “riper 
years/’ those who are capable of taking upon themselves 
vows. In the order for infants three great assumptions give 
character to the whole service. The first appears in the 
opening address to the congregation—that little children are 
already within the kingdom of God and the church, and 
that God’s spirit is already given to them. The second is 
that the parents or legally appointed guardians are the 
natural sponsors of the child, and the major responsibility 
for his spiritual training cannot be transferred to godfathers 
and godmothers. Any number of persons may stand and 
take the vows with the parents, but no one can act as a sub¬ 
stitute for them in this matter. In this respect our service 
contrasts notably with the Prayer Book. The third as¬ 
sumption is that the church publicly acknowledges its obli¬ 
gation to provide for the spiritual nurture of the child 
which belongs to it. Apart from these assumptions, the 
service is only a superstitious practice. He is a wise pastor 
who visits in advance the parents of children to be presented 
for baptism and makes sure that they understand the obli¬ 
gations which they are to assume. 

Except when administered privately, the service is usually 
a part of the public worship of the congregation. The 
parents and other sponsors are invited to present the child 
(or children) near the baptismal font, generally during one 
of the regular hymns. The minister, standing before them, 
addresses the congregation, inviting their prayers on behalf 
of the child to be baptized, and leads in that prayer. The 
address to the parents follows, in which a promise is ex¬ 
acted that the child shall be instructed in the meaning of the 
rite and given such other religious discipline as shall bring 
it to spiritual consciousness in due time. After the pledge 


LITURGICAL SERVICES 


105 


is given, the congregation rises while a short lesson is read, 
and should remain standing during the act of baptism un¬ 
less the number of candidates is very large. Immediately 
after the lesson the minister takes the child in his own arms 
and, asking, ‘AVhat name shall be given to this child?” dips 
up a little water in his right hand and pours or sprinkles it 
upon the head of the child as he repeats the Christian name 
only (for example, Charles Edward —not Charles Edward 
Jones) together with the baptismal formula. Returning the 
child to the parents, he leads the kneeling congregation again 
in prayer, concluding with the Lord’s Prayer, in which all 
participate audibly. Dignity and impressiveness may be 
given to the service if the congregation shall join heartily 
in those parts of the service printed in heavy type. 

It is the habit of some ministers to kiss the baptized child 
before returning it to the parents. This affectation should 
be avoided since it adds nothing to the impressiveness of the 
service and is an unnecessary and sentimental assertion of 
the minister’s individuality. The minister should give the 
parents a certificate of baptism for the child and enroll its 
name in his own record of baptized children, whose status 
is that of probationers in the church. 

The order for persons of “riper years” differs from that 
for infants only in such respects as the difference in ma¬ 
turity and spiritual condition requires. The promises are 
exacted of the candidates themselves and have to do with 
matters of belief, ethical practice, and religious purpose. 
The baptismal formula is the same in both orders. Follow¬ 
ing the act of baptism the congregation kneels and repeats 
audibly the Lord’s Prayer, which may be followed by ex¬ 
temporaneous prayer. The answers to the questions are 
prescribed in the ritual, a copy of which should be in the 
hands of each candidate. If the candidate does not have 
the printed service, it is much better to let him frame his 
own answers than to tell him aloud what he is expected to 
repeat parrot-fashion. This inevitably produces a sense of 
unreality that jars upon the spirit of true devotion. It ap- 


io6 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


plies as well to the answers made to the questions asked of 
persons being received into the church. When performed 
privately, the service, in either of its forms, may be ab¬ 
breviated according to circumstances, provided, of course, 
that the essential parts—the interrogations and the formula 
—shall never be omitted. 

2. The Holy Communion. The value of this sacrament 
depends largely upon the way in which it is administered. 
The administrant may put so little of his individuality into 
it as to make it purely mechanical. Or, he may show in 
word and action such understanding of the significance of 
the rite, such appreciation of its beauty, such a sense of 
joy tempered by humility and reverence at the privilege of 
participating in it as to make it the chief means of grace to 
believers. 

To administer in this way involves, of course, much more 
than the mastery of the technique of the service. On the 
other hand, it cannot be administered effectively without 
this knowledge, and the mastery of these details becomes an 
important part of the duty of anyone who undertakes to 
use a ritual. The more important instructions are printed 
in the order. Certain minor matters, however, are over¬ 
looked which have much to do with the impressiveness of 
the service. In the absence of specific direction, we are to 
be guided, in part, it is assumed, by the practice and ideals 
of the Anglicans from whom we received the service, and 
in other part, by the preference of those among us who 
possess the most discriminating taste in such matters. 

a. Ordinarily the service is made a part of the regular 
worship of the congregation once every two or three months, 
the communion being preceded by the usual hymns, prayers, 
a short sermon, and reception of members. Before the hour 
appointed for worship it is customary to cover the table 
which stands behind the rail and in front of the pulpit with 
a “fair linen cloth,” upon which are set plates of bread con¬ 
veniently cut into strips or broken into small pieces, and a 
pitcher of unfermented grape juice, together with an empty 


LITURGICAL SERVICES 


107 


cup or a number of small individual cups. These in turn 
are all covered with another white cloth awaiting the mo¬ 
ment when they shall be used. 

b. Inasmuch as the service is a memorial of the sacrifice 
of Christ, it is fitting that it should begin with a special 
offering on the part of the congregation, which is received 
by the collectors while the minister reads a number of hor¬ 
tatory verses selected from the Scripture. This offering is 
generally used for the relief of the poor in the church and 
the community. If time permits, it is well to use the Ten 
Commandments as a Litany (see Hymnal, Number 738) 
before the offering or as a substitute for the offering in the 
event that, for a good cause, it is omitted. 

c. After the offering the minister removes and folds care¬ 
fully the cover which is spread over the bread and wine, 
laying it conveniently near for use again. He should then 
take his place at the right side of the table as he faces the 
congregation, 3 which is the station from which he is to 
administer the whole service, and read the Invitation to the 
standing congregation. Those who are to assist him should 
come within the chancel at this time. Then follows the 
General Confession, in which ministers and people partici¬ 
pate audibly as they kneel, the ministers about the table 
facing toward the elements. 

d. It is customary for the administrant to ask his as¬ 
sistants to read the prayers which precede the Prayer of 
Consecration. Lack of familiarity with congregational 
prayers may make it necessary to urge the people at the 
beginning of the service to join heartily in the General 
Confession, the Collect for Purity, and the Ter Sanctus. 
The Prayer of Consecration is made by the administrant 
himself, who should take the plate and cup in his hand at 
the appointed places. 

e. After the Prayer of Consecration, the minister him- 


8 So the Anglicans and Protestant Episcopalians. See Samuel 
Hart, The Book of Common Prayer, p. 167. 



io8 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


self receives the communion in both kinds before admin¬ 
istering the same to his assistants. A mistaken sense of 
courtesy has caused some protest against this practice as 
being inhospitable. It becomes singularly appropriate, how¬ 
ever, once it is understood that this is a symbolic act which 
suggests that he who would minister grace to others must 
first receive that grace himself. After serving his assist¬ 
ants, he resumes his place at the right side of the table, 
leading in the prayer and the Ter Sanctus, which is to be 
said or sung by the people. 

f. After the Ter Sanctus, the minister proceeds to serve 
the people “in order.” Presumably this means in an orderly 
manner. This must imply that only as many are to be al¬ 
lowed to kneel at the rail at one time as can be accommo¬ 
dated comfortably. Confusion and disorder result if the 
people kneel two or three rows deep. It is likewise in the 
interest of order that as the first retire, a second group shall 
come from the opposite side of the house. Ushers, properly 
instructed, may direct the movement of the congregation. 
The singing of devotional hymns and the playing of proper 
selections on the organ will do much to create an atmosphere 
of worship during this part of the service and stabilize the 
emotion of the congregation. The time may be most profit¬ 
ably employed in intervals of the service in meditation and 
introspection, for only as there is a conscientious endeavor 
to realize the spiritual aspects of the sacrament can one 
eat and drink worthily so that he “may live and grow 
thereby.” 

In view of the ministerial character of their service, the 
choir probably should precede the congregation in com¬ 
municating, though usually they are the last. On coming 
to the rail, each communicant should go to the farthest un¬ 
occupied space and kneel in an upright manner, the women 
with veils raised and hands ungloved. Persons may receive 
the communion, however, sitting or standing if there is 
good reason for not kneeling. It is the practice of An¬ 
glicans to break a small piece of bread from strips which 


LITURGICAL SERVICES 


109 


are held in the left hand, and drop this into the open palm 
of the right hand of the communicant. The prejudice which 
exists, however, in the minds of most people against han¬ 
dling food unnecessarily makes it more advisable to have the 
bread cut into small bits upon the plate and permit the com¬ 
municant to help himself. For sanitary reasons individual 
cups too are to be preferred to the common cup. The empty 
cups may be collected in a tray provided for that purpose 
after all have been served. 

It is the common custom to repeat the administrative 
formula for each element a number of times as it is passed. 
This is not always edifying, and since we do not hold, as 
does the English Church, that each communicant has an 
inherent right to an individual repetition, it is probably 
better to repeat the formula clearly and distinctly once each 
time the elements are served, and then pass them to the 
communicants in silence. 

There is no ritualistic authority for the time-honored 
practice of dismissing communicants with an exhortation. 
But some signal is needed for all to retire at once, and this 
may well justify the practice. Better than the impromptu 
exhortation, however, is a single verse of Scripture or a 
hymn, concluding with the formal dismissal: “Arise, go in 
peace. Amen.” Or, better yet, the dismissal itself is suf¬ 
ficient after a moment has been allowed for silent prayer 
and thanksgiving. 

g. As soon as all have been served and before the con¬ 
cluding prayers, the unused portion of the consecrated ele¬ 
ments should be covered again with the cloth that was re¬ 
moved at the very beginning of the service. Then the min¬ 
ister and people kneel, joining together in the Lord’s Prayer 
and a Prayer of Thanksgiving, at the conclusion of which 
all stand to repeat or chant “Gloria in Excelsis ” The 
service concludes with the Benediction. 

3. The Marriage Service. Unlike Catholics, Protes¬ 
tants do not regard marriage as a sacrament. It is a most 
sacred service, nevertheless, and no minister should ever 


no 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


perform the rite without revealing in the manner of its 
performance his own sense of its deep sanctity. The form 
provided in the Methodist Episcopal ritual can hardly be 
improved, and the directions are too clear to need any sup¬ 
plementary statement. 

At a time when public opinion generally subscribes to a 
view of marriage contradictory to the teaching of the New 
Testament, the Christian minister should exercise scrupu¬ 
lous care lest he contribute to the destruction of the family 
by performing marriages where one or both parties have 
been divorced. At the most, Jesus allowed but one cause 
as sufficient warrant for breaking the marriage relation. 
And the Methodist Episcopal Church does not permit its 
ministers to remarry any divorced persons except the inno¬ 
cent party in a divorce on the ground of adultery. It may 
be embarrassing to refuse one’s services at times. This is 
a small matter, however, as compared with the stultification 
of oneself to avoid embarrassment or to earn a fee. Noth¬ 
ing is more significant of the power of the church in a ma¬ 
terialistic age than the eagerness with which nearly all per¬ 
sons covet the blessing of the church in the hour of marriage 
and the hour of death. Marriages may be performed by 
civil magistrates. Most of them, however, are performed 
by ministers. And the church will keep the respect of the 
community by declining to adjust its views on matrimony to 
those of a gainsaying generation. He is no true minister of 
Jesus Christ who performs the marriage ceremony “for 
anyone who can secure a license.” In a courteous manner 
one may inquire whether either party has been divorced, 
should the license indicate a previous marriage, and why. 
If a divorce has been granted for any other than the cause 
allowed by Jesus, the minister may simply say that the law 
of his church forbids him to perform the ceremony. More¬ 
over, if for any reason whatsoever he may feel that the 
proposed marriage is ill-advised—the youth of the parties, 
or a frivolous view of matrimony, or unsound conditions 
of health or mind—he should decline to perform the service, 


LITURGICAL SERVICES 


in 


though a license from the State be presented authorizing it. 
To consent on the ground that “some other minister will 
marry them if I do not” is utterly contemptible. “If I ever 
dare to marry, I should want Dr. B. to marry me,” said a 
woman professor in a large women’s college. “It was a 
solemn thing getting married by Dr. B. Groom and bride 
had to have separate interviews with him. They used to 
say the brides came out of his study tearful and the grooms 
sober-faced; but his marriages always turned out happy 
ones.” 4 All marriages should be recorded carefully in the 
official records of the church as well as certified to the 
State in the blank usually provided for that purpose. Need¬ 
less to say, all marriages should be properly witnessed. 

4. The Funeral. In time of death, as in marriage, most 
families covet the help that religion affords. However 
critical men may be of the church, they do not care to have 
those whom they love lowered into the earth without the 
prayers and blessing of the church. In such an hour the pas¬ 
tor has a supreme opportunity to render a spiritual service. 

If the deceased be a member of the church, the pastor 
will call on the family as soon as he is informed of the 
death, offering to be helpful in any way possible. In other 
cases he will call as soon as he knows that his services will 
be needed. On these occasions usually he may make pre¬ 
liminary plans for the funeral service, gathering such data 
concerning the deceased as he may care to use in the ad¬ 
dress. And within a few days after the service he should 
call again. In making these calls it is very much more im¬ 
portant that he be a warm-hearted, sensible friend than an 
ecclesiastic doing and saying the professional things which 
he believes are expected of him. If the family is notably 
devout, it may be perfectly natural to offer the consolations 
of prayer. If they are not, or if there is confusion and 
distraction which would make the suggestion of prayer an 
embarrassment, he will render his largest service through 
being just humanly sympathetic. 

‘From an article in “The Christian Advocate,” July 6, 1922, p. 834. 



112 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


As for the service itself, the Methodist Episcopal Church 
provides a ritual that is solemn and beautiful, adapted from 
that of the Anglican Church. Frequently the service will 
consist only of the lessons and prayers of this service —and 
nothing can he in better taste! More commonly, however, 
one or two numbers of special music and an address in 
addition are expected. A “funeral sermon” is almost never 
in order, even in the rural districts to-day. The address 
should not take more than eight or ten minutes, and the 
whole service should be concluded in a half hour, as a rule. 
Any biographical sketch of the deceased that may be de¬ 
sirable should be incorporated into the address, and while 
proper appreciation is ever in order, overstatement and 
eulogy are distinctly bad form. If the departed was a 
saint, that fact will be already widely known. If not, only 
embarrassment can follow from an attempt to “whiten a 
sepulcher.” Any effort to stir up the emotions of the com¬ 
pany, particularly of the family, is reprehensible. Rather 
the service should soothe the harrowed feelings of those who 
mourn by its quiet tenderness. The proper material for an 
address at a funeral consists of the fundamental doctrine 
that God is love, and all other doctrines that are implied 
in it. Many things may happen that we cannot explain, 
but nothing can carry us beyond the reach of his love. Thus 
those who stay are safe, and those who go. “If we have 
such a Father in heaven as our Lord sought to reveal to us, 
then there are no sorrows that cannot be healed.” 

It is a commendable custom of many ministers to insert 
blank leaves in their rituals on which they may write, from 
time to time, verses, sentiments, and poems, gathered in 
their reading which may be appropriately used on funeral 
occasions. Selections from this compilation may be read as 
a part of the address, or a substitute for it. 

Methodist ministers are forbidden to charge a fee for 
burying the dead. Where one is put to considerable ex¬ 
pense to render this service, it is assumed that the family 
will reimburse him. But if they should not do so, he could 


LITURGICAL SERVICES 


113 

hardly present a bill for it. On the other hand, he is not 
forbidden to accept an honorarium if one is offered without 
solicitation. When the offer comes from a family not con¬ 
nected with the church, there is no good reason for de¬ 
clining it, if they can afford to make it. It is probably the 
only way in which they ever contribute to the support of the 
ministry. But if it comes from one of the families in the 
church, the minister will do well to return it with a broth¬ 
erly statement that a good shepherd will not profit from 
the distress of one of his sheep. Undue readiness to accept 
gifts has ruined the usefulness of many ministers. 

5. “The Liturgical Personality.” It may appear that 
rather unusual emphasis has been laid upon the mechanics 
of public worship. But it has never been forgotten that 
“the best precepts with regard to liturgical matters run the 
risk of failing of their object unless powerfully supported 
by the liturgical personality.” 5 Behind the pulpit decorum 
of the minister, the congregation must feel the throbbing 
of a heart that loves God devotedly and a spirit that is 
sensitive to the most appropriate means of expressing that 
affection. In free worship we speedily reach the point 
where no rule of action can he prescribed. The only safe 
guide is a sound liturgical instinct. In the development of 
such an instinct instruction in principles and methods of 
worship, the study of liturgical writings, conversation with 
skilled liturgists, all have an important place, but a place 
that is subordinate to the cultivation of the minister’s own 
spiritual life by private prayer and meditation. To give 
his life a “spiritual bent” must be the liturgist’s first con¬ 
cern. There should be “no day without special secret 
prayer, without definite reading and reflection on Holy 
Scripture, without, in a word, an inner laving in the re¬ 
freshing and invigorating well-springs of a higher life.” 6 
In the interest of developing a “liturgical personality” we 


Wan Oosterzee, op cit., p. 443. 

6 Id ., p. 445- 


I 



THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


114 

do well to heed Spurgeon’s exhortation: ‘‘We cannot be al¬ 
ways on the knees of the body, but the soul should never 
leave the posture of devotion. The habit of prayer is good, 
but the spirit of prayer is better. As a rule, we ministers 
ought never to be many minutes without actually lifting up 
our hearts in prayer.” 

Books Recommended for Further Study 

R. J. Cooke, History of the Ritual of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church. 

C. C. Hall et al., Christian Worship. 

W. P. Thirkield, Service and Prayers. 

Discipline Methodist Episcopal Church, 1920, The Ritual. 


SECTION II 


ADMINISTRATION 


' * 

























































CHAPTER X 


IMPORTANCE OF ORGANIZATION 

The essential fact in Christianity from the beginning has 
been an experience of fellowship between the individual 
believer and Jesus Christ. It was most natural that those 
who enjoyed this experience should have been drawn to¬ 
gether into a brotherhood of believers. The mutual love 
which characterized the earliest Christians in their rela¬ 
tions each to the other was a new thing in the world—so 
unselfish and beautiful that they themselves explained it as 
a divine creation, the work of the Holy Spirit who filled 
the body of believers with his presence, binding the many 
together into a single organism. This fellowship dates 
from Pentecost, which was not the time, as some suppose, 
when the Holy Spirit first came into the world (God’s Spirit 
has been here since he brooded over primeval chaos), but 
the day when the Spirit created “the Beloved Community.” 

The atmosphere of good will which prevailed in the early 
church was very attractive to outsiders and very helpful to 
new converts, whose faith was fortified not only by the 
teaching of the apostles but by companionship with fellow 
believers. “They devoted themselves to the instruction 
given by the apostles and to fellowship, breaking bread and 
praying together” (Acts 2. 42, Moffatt’s translation). The 
quality and strength of this corporate unity are suggested 
by the figures of speech employed in the New Testament 
to describe it—“the temple of God” (1 Cor. 3. 16), “the 
body of Christ” (1 Cor. 12. 27), “a kingdom” (1 Thess. 
2. 12), “a household” (Gal. 6. 10). The essential idea in 
each instance is that the many, mutually related and de¬ 
pendent, were arranged into a systematic whole under the 
influence of a common spirit so that they lived and wor- 

11 7 


n8 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


shiped together with the greatest harmony. The church 
has kept this ideal of fellowship before it continually 
by thinking of itself throughout its history as “the com¬ 
munion of saints.” 

As time passed, problems arose within the brotherhood 
which called for solution. Moreover, it appeared that the 
Christian propaganda could be carried on more effectively 
by collective than by individual action. So the fellowship 
became formally organized with officers whose respective 
duties were clearly defined. The type of organization seems 
to have varied, in different localities, though generally the 
Jewish synagogue was the model. And from that day to 
this the organization has been increasing in complexity. 

It is quite the fashion to complain that organized Chris¬ 
tianity has lost Christ's vision of saving the world and 
is chiefly concerned these latter days with saving itself. The 
critics render a valuable service in so far as they merely 
warn us against the danger of permitting the organization 
to become an end in itself. When they suggest, however, 
that organization is inherently bad, they do violence to the 
truth. There is no important achievement in the history 
of the church that would have been possible to an unorgan¬ 
ized Christianity. The critics should reflect upon the fu¬ 
tility of certain attempts to bring in the Kingdom which 
discounted the importance of organization. The contrast 
between the work of George Whitefield and John Wesley 
is familiar. The former was the greater preacher, judged 
by popular standards, and probably the more winsome per¬ 
sonality. But his influence upon the English-speaking world 
was insignificant as compared with that of the latter, who 
organized his followers into “societies.” Less frequently 
is attention called to the difference between the Old Testa¬ 
ment prophets and the New Testament apostles. They 
matched each other in zeal and religious passion. But the 
former had very little influence upon their own generation, 
failing to avert the calamities which they saw impending; 
while the latter turned the Roman world upside down. 


IMPORTANCE OF ORGANIZATION 


119 

Humanly speaking, this difference seems to be due largely 
to the fact that the prophets were isolated voices, while the 
apostles, in addition to preaching, left organizations behind 
them in all the great cities of their day. 

One can imagine how little headway individual Chris¬ 
tians would have made in the task of Christianizing the 
world, each attacking the evils of paganism in his own way 
without reference to what any other was doing. Just as 
little as a patriotic young man would make in fighting his 
country's enemy with impetuous zeal, but refusing to join 
an organized body of soldiers! He would contribute more 
to the cause he loved by merging his identity with a group 
in which the many act as one. This principle holds to-day. 
We are still fighting against great evils. There is need of 
assistance from every high-minded man and woman in 
this war. But we shall make our blows more effective if 
all strike together rather than separately. We read that 
while one shall chase a thousand, two shall put ten thou¬ 
sand to flight. How? Obviously by careful cooperation in 
plan and effort. The difference between ten and two more 
or less fairly represents the difference in effectiveness be¬ 
tween organized and unorganized effort. And the task of 
a pastor is the twofold one of (1) keeping in the church a 
spirit of divine fellowship, and (2) molding that fellowship 
into an instrument by which Christ can do his work in the 
world. The New Testament figure of the church as the 
body of Christ expresses both ideas—a form which is filled 
with his spirit, and which puts eyes, ears, hands, feet, and 
voice at his disposal that he may coordinate their several 
activities and so increase the effectiveness of each. 

The Methodist Episcopal Church believes in organiza¬ 
tion to an unusual degree for a Protestant body. It has a 
highly centralized form of church government which invests 
its general officers with almost despotic power. Churches 
accept pastors, whose names they may not know, merely on 
the appointment of a bishop. Ministers sometimes find 
their pastoral relations broken in one place and new ones 


120 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


established in another without their permission being asked. 
Great benevolent boards are trusted with vast sums of 
money and their executive officers clothed with extraor¬ 
dinary authority. In a way, it appears to be anachronistic— 
“a church of the people, yet so autocratic!” But one does 
not create an autocracy by centralizing authority so long as 
those who possess power are held to a high degree of respon¬ 
sibility! The autocrat is accountable to no one. The agent 
of a democratic society, say the President of the United 
States, may for the time being have all the power of a 
Czar, but he is responsible to the people who conferred the 
power, and must make an accounting every four years. 
Similarly with the general officials of the Methodist Epis¬ 
copal Church. They possess extraordinary power, but 
their work is subject to frequent review. Ministers and 
laymen trust them very far for the time being. But the day 
of accounting is always ahead. This keeps the church dem¬ 
ocratic—its power, in fact, widely distributed—but a 
democracy which believes in collective effort and is not 
afraid to delegate great authority temporarily to a few 
individuals. In this manner the church attains to something 
like the “efficiency” of an autocratic organization without 
sacrificing real freedom. 

Organization is as significant for the local church as it is 
for the general body. The pastor deals in the small with 
precisely the same problems that bishops and general sec¬ 
retaries face in the large. Therefore he must learn to ap¬ 
proach them intelligently. He may not like them, but they 
are unavoidable. He may not withdraw from his prophetic 
office, but, in addition, he must acquire “the gift of admin¬ 
istration.” 


CHAPTER XI 


PRINCIPLES OF ADMINISTRATION 

The principles of administration are the same for the 
church as for any organized group, whether commercial, 
industrial, social, economic, political, or religious. They 
are not arbitrary ideals laid down by general officials, but 
great laws of life which control human beings in group re¬ 
lations. - 

i. The first is to conceive intelligently the proper function 
of the organization. The pastor must ask himself con¬ 
tinually, “What is the whole business of the church in the 
community?” The answer which he makes will determine 
the form of the church organization. An organization 
whose function it is to make shoes will not be identical in 
every respect with one whose business is to wage war. One 
whose aim is to relieve distress will differ greatly from 
one whose purpose is education. This principle is often 
disregarded by those who insist that the church should be 
“run on business principles.” If that means only that the 
church should be administered intelligently in the light of 
the great ends to be served, it is good advice. But if it 
means that the church is to be run like a bank, it is bad 
counsel for the simple reason that banking is not the busi¬ 
ness of the church. The church will have its own methods 
because it has its own work. 

Broadly speaking, the ends toward which the church 
should move are worship, evangelism, education, and 
service. Necessarily the organization designed to serve 
these ends will be complex. To direct this work properly 
the pastor, ideally, should have expert assistance in the 
form of paid workers who are specialists in their respective 
fields. Practically, however, most pastors must do their 
work with volunteer helpers. 

121 


122 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


2. It is important that the members of an organization 
shall be imbued with loyalty to a common ideal. Every high 
class organization is careful to receive and retain in its 
membership only such persons as are in sympathy with 
its aims and methods. Some organizations necessarily re¬ 
quire certain physical and mental qualifications in their 
members. The church demands only moral and spiritual 
fitness. Do candidates for membership hate sin and love 
righteousness? Is God a reality to them and his will their 
highest law? Do their daily lives give evidence of these 
desires? Are their religious beliefs and ideals such as to 
make it possible for them to live and work harmoniously 
with other members of the church? The church should 
make its standards as broad and few as possible, but there 
can be no doubt as to its right and obligation to guard its 
membership against divisive and disintegrating elements. 

The “morale” of the church can seldom be built up or 
maintained by harsh disciplinary measures. Only in the 
rarest instances is it profitable to proceed against a member 
with formal charges and church trials (though one should 
not flinch if duty points clearly in that direction). Only the 
spirit of generous, patient, intelligent love radiated by the 
pastor in his life and words will fuse together the many 
with diverse minds and tastes into a unified “communion 
of saints.” After three years of fellowship with Jesus the 
Twelve sat down the last night in an irritable mood, their 
unity spoiled by distrust and jealous ambition. To unite 
different types into a brotherhood for unselfish service is 
still “the most stupendous and heart-breaking labor to 
which a minister of the gospel can set himself.” 1 

3. No good administrator ever dreams of doing himself 
all the work of his organization. The pastor who would 
become a competent manager of the church organization 
must depend upon the help of assistants. He should not 
do anything in the way of a minor task that can be delegated 
to others. Yet at this point many pastors fail hopelessly, 

Charles E. Jefferson, Building the Church , p. 76, 



PRINCIPLES OF ADMINISTRATION 


123 


Tasks are so numerous, competent lay workers are so few, 
and time is so short, that the impulse is strong to undertake 
everything oneself, or fill the important posts in the church 
with members of one’s own family. Times without num¬ 
ber when the pastor removes to another charge, the church 
is stripped of practically all its leadership, for he takes with 
him in the parsonage household the Sunday school super¬ 
intendent, several Sunday-school teachers, and the presi¬ 
dents of the Epworth League and most of the women’s 
organizations. The helplessness of Methodist churches with¬ 
out pastors is almost proverbial. This is not creditable to 
the type of pastoral oversight that has failed to develop lay 
leadership prepared to carry on the work in the absence of 
the pastor. 

Not only does the pastor do the church an injustice by 
assuming posts of subordinate leadership, but he renders 
himself incompetent to do effectively the work which only 
he can do. The life of bustling activity incapacitates him 
for the quiet study and brooding that is indispensable to 
effective preaching. Constant immersion in minor details 
lessens his power to see his task as a whole and to discrimi¬ 
nate between the primary and the secondary. The church 
may foolishly applaud for the time being the young min¬ 
ister who acts as janitor, leader of the men’s class, Sunday- 
school superintendent, scoutmaster, choir leader, as well as 
shepherd and prophet. But in ten years that restless ac¬ 
tivity will smother the spirit of prophecy within him, and 
prophets are too rare to waste in this fashion. By middle 
life it will be clear that it would have been wiser to have 
secured and trained laymen to fill these lesser posts so that 
he might have had time to keep his intellectual strength from 
abating and his spiritual vision from growing dim. Many a 
pastor, who at thirty was an energetic youngster in great 
demand, has become a problem for district superintendents 
and bishops by the time he has reached fifty. In the be¬ 
ginning he did his work by a vast expenditure of physical 
energy. He was always “on the go” and was regarded as a 


124 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


“hustler.” But in every man the tides of physical life begin 
to run low at forty-five and it is necessary then to do by 
mental and spiritual power what was formerly done by 
physical. So it comes to pass that the pastor in middle 
life who has always been “too busy to study” is in some such 
position as a squirrel might be in midwinter who was too 
busy in the autumn to lay in a store of nuts. He has no 
resources to draw upon that will get him by the hard place. 

The problem of securing competent lay helpers is very 
much more difficult for him than for the manager of a 
business organization. He seeks volunteer and unsalaried 
service. The worker must find his reward in the doing of 
the work itself. It is easy, however, to exaggerate the ad¬ 
vantage which economic power gives the entrepreneur in 
business. The successful manager is not always cracking 
the whip of authority over the heads of his subordinates. 
Rather he makes the same appeal which the pastor must 
make—helps men to see that the work in itself is important, 
holds before them constantly the ideal which he cherishes 
for the enterprise, creates a sense of responsibility by dele¬ 
gating authority to them, and gives all consideration possi¬ 
ble to their opinions. Even in business the pocketbook is 
not always the paramount consideration, and the best man¬ 
agers know this full well. But be this as it may, the pastor 
must prevail upon men and women to assume posts of lead¬ 
ership in the church without hope of financial reward. If 
he cannot get the persons he wants, he must take the persons 
he can get. And he must see to it that they become as ef¬ 
ficient as possible under the limitations which are imposed. 
He will encourage them by words of commendation when it 
is possible to do so. He will offer helpful suggestions as 
to the way in which their work may be made more effective. 
He will meet them frequently for private and group confer¬ 
ence. He will put into their hands the best literature on their 
.respective tasks. And gradually he will build around him¬ 
self a corps of teachers and assistant executives thoroughly 
imbued with his spirit and sharing his ideals. 


PRINCIPLES OF ADMINISTRATION 


125 


Having once delegated authority to some one for a par¬ 
ticular task, the pastor should advise with that person with 
reference to all matters in his department. For example, 
he should not go over the head of the choirmaster in mu¬ 
sical matters. If some special arrangement seems desirable, 
the leader should be requested to make it. If the pastor 
should make it himself without consulting the leader, that 
official would have a right to suspect that he was not trusted, 
and would be irritated. If the subordinate will not give 
cooperation, he should be removed, but as long as he is in 
charge, he should be consulted. 

4. It is a weakness in much so-called “scientific manage¬ 
ment^ that the administrator takes an impersonal view of 
the human elements in the organization. Men are regarded 
as so many mechanical parts of a gigantic machine which 
have no will of their own and act only at the command of 
the master. It is this treatment of men as if they were 
inanimate things that is the chief cause of unrest in industry. 
Workers care less about more wealth just now than they 
do about more freedom. And the most successful business 
executives are devising means whereby employees may 
make their voices heard in the management of affairs. 

If the despotic boss is undesirable in business, he is im¬ 
possible in the church. Democracy in religion requires 
that every member of the church shall have an opportunity 
to express his view on any vital matter connected with the 
life of the church. It is not enough that the pastor should 
have a policy or a program. He is bound to win the en¬ 
thusiastic consent of the church to it so that it shall be the 
collective program of the whole organization. There is 
no place in Methodism for the pastor who feels that the 
church must obey when he speaks simply because he has 
spoken. If the people adopt his judgment, it must be be¬ 
cause it is worth adopting. He should never be satisfied 
with carrying a vote on any vital matter by a narrow ma¬ 
jority. Any notable changes in policy should be made only 
when the judgment of the church as a whole is practically 


126 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


unanimous as to its wisdom. “Conference,” “discussion,” 
“education,” “respect for the people’s judgment,” are words 
with which the wise pastor will conjure. By them he will 
move the spirit of the congregation toward himself and 
command the cooperation of their wills. And if it be that 
they do not vote as he desires, it is supreme folly for him 
to complain childishly that the people will not follow his 
leadership. If his was a good cause, it can afford to wait 
for the hearty support of the church. If it was not, it should 
have been lost. 

In the development of opinion favorable to any project, it 
is important to win the approval of the men of sober wis¬ 
dom in the organization whose views carry great weight 
with their fellow members. Every church has one such per¬ 
son, and some have several. If a majority of these will 
not indorse the plan, action should be deferred until such 
a time as their consent can be won. To force the issue 
prematurely may result not only in the defeat of the plan 
but also in arraigning the strong man against the pastor. 
Of course we are not suggesting unmanly servility, much 
less insincere flattery, in the effort to win others to one’s 
way of thinking, but only that Christian respect for the 
opinion of others which is always becoming in a brotherhood 
like the church, and which is essential in dealing with a 
group committed to democratic ideals. 

5. Another principle for which the wise administrator 
must have great regard is that of properly coordinating the 
work of the several departments of his organization. It is 
not enough that an army commander shall be courageous 
on the field of battle. He must correlate the work of his 
staff so that all departments shall work together toward a 
common end. His army must be fed, clothed, and equipped, 
and all at the same time. If the quartermaster’s depart¬ 
ment gets up the clothing and the commissary department 
brings up the provisions, but the ordnance officers do not 
bring up the guns and ammunition, the army will suffer 
defeat in spite of the personal heroism of the general and 


PRINCIPLES OF ADMINISTRATION 


127 


his men. The responsibility for the disaster must be 
charged to poor staff work, which in turn is traceable to 
poor generalship. 

Similarly the wise pastor must correlate the work of the 
several departments of the church so that all will cooperate 
intelligently in working out a common purpose. He should 
endeavor to eliminate all waste and needless duplication of 
effort, and see that no department fails to function in the 
proper manner. In this connection attention is called again 
to the large number of organizations in many churches do¬ 
ing some form of educational work regardless of whether 
or not the same work could be done more effectively by an¬ 
other group. For the missionary societies, the Epworth 
League, and the Sunday school all to offer mission study 
courses, for example, is much as if the ordnance, commis¬ 
sary, and quartermaster’s departments should all provide 
the army with shoes. There is an oversupply of one article 
and an undersupply of others. 

6 . Every authority on business administration regards 
“system” as “the basic structure of organization” It con¬ 
sists of a well defined routine for controlling the methods 
and processes of production. The wise manager, never¬ 
theless, understands that while system is a good servant, it 
is a poor master. Impatience with “red tape” is thoroughly 
justified when system has become so elaborate or is so ven¬ 
erated that it retards the dispatch of business. Wherever 
it is possible, however, to turn work over to routine it will 
be wise to do so. The nervous system does exactly this 
when any form of conduct has become habitual, for habit 
is only another word for system. Proper system in church 
work is as desirable as right habits in religion. But it must 
be remembered that no hard-and-fast system can be brought 
in from the business world and applied directly to the work 
of the church. A workable system must emerge naturally 
from within the organization on the basis of experience. 
The work of the church should be done in orderly fashion, 
but the particular order will be its own. 


128 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


Every pastor can introduce system to advantage— 
a. In his study. Where the pulpit is lacking in intellectual 
vigor, desultory reading and bad habits of study on the 
part of the minister are generally the cause. Too many 
pastors have no fixed hours for intellectual work and no 
permanent intellectual interests which control in the selec¬ 
tion of books and periodicals. Regular study hours have 
been jealously observed by all great pastors. 

h. In pastoral work. The control of impulse is responsi¬ 
ble for inefficiency in pastoral work quite as certainly as in 
the intellectual work of the study. Too many pastors call 
only as the mood for calling is on them. This may seem 
to be justified by the fact that to be helpful to people in our 
calling we must be at our best emotionally as well as in¬ 
tellectually. On the other hand, it is fatal to pastoral work 
that it should be wholly at the mercy of our moods. 

c. In evangelism. Inadequate results in the work of 
evangelism are more often than not due to the fact that the 
minister does not go about this work systematically. In 
another place particular programs of evangelism will be 
mentioned. For the present it is enough to say that at the 
beginning of each year every pastor should plan his evan¬ 
gelistic work very definitely for the whole year. He will 
understand that the people who are to be won are not peo¬ 
ple in general but particular men and women and boys and 
girls whose names and addresses he should have on a con¬ 
stituency roll or card index. He will know too that these 
people must be won by the people who are already interested 
in the things of the Kingdom, and he will likewise make a 
list of those persons who may reasonably be expected to do 
personal work. He will plan his special meetings both for 
the church and the Sunday school, and as the time arrives 
for particular services in his calendar he will give careful 
attention to every duty, seeing to it in so far as possible 
that nothing is left to chance. If this seems like reducing 
the work of soul-winning to mechanics, let us remember 
that God works through the ordinary and the natural pow- 


PRINCIPLES OF ADMINISTRATION 129 

ers of man quite as certainly as he works through the ex¬ 
traordinary and the unusual. 

d. In religious education and community service. The 
work of religious education and community service suffers, 
as does the work of evangelism, because it is not organized 
in a systematic fashion. Moods or impulses may render us 
impotent here as well as any other where. It ought to be 
obvious that the educational work of the church calls for 
the closest planning and the most consistent application of 
time and energy through a long period. And the church 
can render only inadequate service in solving community 
problems if its interest in those problems is occasional and 
spasmodic rather than permanent and intelligent. 

e. In preaching. As suggested above, no pastor is likely 
to present a comprehensive teaching of Christian truth from 
the pulpit unless he plans far in advance his themes and 
subjects. 

f. In church finance. Many a church, brought to the 
verge of bankruptcy by lack of system in financial methods, 
has adopted a more intelligent plan with results that were 
little less than miraculous. In place of letting unpaid bills 
accumulate until the credit of the church was almost ruined 
and meeting these bills by a frenzied appeal to men when 
there happened to be a good congregation assembled for 
worship, the plan of intelligently making a budget of ex¬ 
pense for the twelve months in advance, and informing the 
congregation as to the legitimacy of the several items in 
this budget, and finally canvassing every member of the 
church for subscription to this budget, has raised many a 
church from the dead. 

7. Modern administrators, within and zmthout the 
church, have much to say about “efficiency.” This is the 
result of an effort on the part of “scientific management” 
in industry to handle huge volumes of business by standard¬ 
izing, wherever possible, the processes of mass production 
and turning them over to “routine.” Necessarily it is 
highly mechanical, reducing the demand for creative 


130 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


thought on the part of the workers and requiring special 
skill in making a few motions which soon become almost 
instinctive and involuntary. 

It should be understood that efficiency in this mechanical 
sense for church work is neither desirable nor possible. 
Efficiency in industry converts the worker as certainly into 
a machine as the clanging thing of iron and steel which he 
handles. And, surely, we do not expect men to be treated 
by the church in the impersonal way that they are treated 
in a mill. Moreover, it is impossible to standardize very 
extensively methods and processes in an organization whose 
aim is to develop certain moods and tempers, to induce an 
attitude of faith and good will toward God and men. The 
“efficient church” is the one which finds a way to produce 
“the believing soul.” This is more largely a matter of “at¬ 
mosphere” than of technique or organization. It never can 
be said that a specific number of prescribed actions will 
always and everywhere produce this state of belief. 

It does not follow, however, that there is no need for 
more intelligence and better practical judgment in doing the 
work of the church, which is what we really mean when we 
demand “greater church efficiency.” The pastor who en¬ 
ters his study well past the middle of the morning with no 
definite schedule in mind for the next four or five hours, 
spending a half hour on the morning papers, an hour on 
letters, followed by a visit to the post office, returning to 
weed the garden or tinker the automobile, failing to get in 
sixty minutes of conscientious mental labor on a worth¬ 
while book or problem of thought, is wasteful and lazy—• 
and that is inefficient. The Sunday-school teacher who 
permits a pupil to be absent two Sundays in succession with¬ 
out getting in touch with him is careless and indifferent— 
and that is inefficient. For two or more organizations to 
plan social affairs for the same or successive evenings which 
appeal to the same constituency for financial support is 
stupid—and that is inefficient. For several societies, the Sun¬ 
day school, the Epworth League, the Men’s Club, for ex- 


PRINCIPLES OF ADMINISTRATION 


131 

ample, to attempt to do separately something that could 
be done together better shows lack of coordination—which 
is inefficient. To organize a group of women, girls, and 
children first as a Woman’s Foreign Missionary Society, 
King’s Daughters, and Little Light Bearers; and then as 
a Woman’s Home Missionary Society, Queen Esther’s Cir¬ 
cle, and Home Guards is bad management—and that is 
inefficient. An official, whose duty requires that plain and 
accurate records be kept of business transacted or moneys 
handled, but whose minutes or accounts are in disorder and 
confusion is surely inefficient. A church badly located and 
poorly equipped for its work when a better site and ade¬ 
quate facilities are really available, is inefficient. More 
precision, care, painstaking conscientiousness, imagination, 
earnestness, intelligence—these can all be introduced with 
advantage into the work of the church—which is all that 
is meant in suggesting more efficiency. 

8 . A final principle which should control a pastor of a 
Methodist Episcopal church is derived from the federal 
character of the church. There is probably no ecclesiasti¬ 
cal organization in the world, except the Roman Catholic, 
in which the cohesion of its several parts is so great. Its 
bishops are all “general” superintendents. In practice the 
authority of each may be limited to a group of Conferences, 
but in theory this authority is church-wide. Its ministers 
are “transferred” with the greatest ease from one An¬ 
nual Conference to another, and the lay membership, while 
localized and counted in some particular church, as a mat¬ 
ter of fact rests in the general denomination. This pro¬ 
duces a strong “connectional” consciousness, which affects 
each pastor to a notable degree. It obligates him to exalt 
before his own congregation the best in the denominational 
tradition, without boastfulness or unbrotherliness toward 
other communions. Moreover, it requires from him loyalty 
toward the general officers and heads of the church and 
willingness to cooperate in executing properly authorized 
programs. This loyalty does not require that he be servile. 


132 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


He is to think his own thoughts and express his own mind 
when the time for discussion has arrived. But when dis¬ 
cussion has ceased and the will of the denomination is ex¬ 
pressed in legislation, he has no choice but to conform to 
this general will. If one cannot give this loyalty, he may 
honorably withdraw from the ministry of the church, but 
cannot honorably continue in it. 

Books Recommended for Further Study 

Charles E. Jefferson, Building the Church. 

Albert F. McGarrah, Modern Church Management; A Modern 
Church Program. 

Albert J. Lyman, The Christian Pastor in the New Age. 

Frederick Lynch, The New Opportunities of the Ministry. 

Shailer Mathews, Scientific Management in the Churches. 

F. A. Agar, Manual of Church Methods. 

William H. Leach, How to Make the Church Go. 

R. W. Babson, The Future of the Churches. 


CHAPTER XII 


PLANS OF ORGANIZATION 

The General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church has prescribed a plan of organization for the local 
church. The governing body is called the “Quarterly Con¬ 
ference” 1 and is composed of all ministers, local preachers, 
exhorters, stewards, trustees, class leaders, and deaconesses 
on the charge, together with the chief executive officers of 
the several major organizations within the church (super¬ 
intendent of the Sunday school, president of the Epworth 
League, presidents of the several women’s organizations, 
and the directors of religious education and social activities, 
etc.). This Conference usually meets from two to four 
times a year under the presidency of the district superin¬ 
tendent. It operates through numerous committees, and to 
it the several officers, organizations, and committees report 
at least once a year. 

The long interval between meetings of the Quarterly Con¬ 
ference makes it an impractical instrument for handling 
business which must receive regular and frequent attention. 
To meet this defect, the Board of Stewards and the Board 
of Trustees were separately organized. This gave rise to 
a species of dual control in the church, for the division of 
labor agreed upon was that the stewards should have charge 
of “spiritual matters,” while the trustees should give them¬ 
selves to “temporal affairs.” The lack of coordination be¬ 
tween the two bodies proved embarrassing, and eventually, 
in many churches, one of them came to feel itself superior 
to the other. To make possible a return to a more demo¬ 
cratic and unified control the Quarterly Conference now 

*An amendment is now pending proposing to change this name to 
“Local Conference.” 


133 



134 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


may authorize the organization of an “official board,” whose 
personnel is that of the Quarterly Conference, and which 
largely does the work both of the stewards and trustees. 
Some states require that the trustees must be separately 
organized to hold and transfer property. But for this fact, 
in most churches neither stewards nor trustees would be 
independently organized. The official board meets regu¬ 
larly once each month, and special meetings are held on 
call of the pastor. The pastor is presiding officer, ex officio. 
Additional officials are usually a vice-president, secretary, 
treasurer for local budget, treasurer of benevolences, and 
financial secretary, who generally fill corresponding offices 
in the Quarterly Conference. The board performs its work 
through the Quarterly Conference committees and such 
others as it may decide to elect. Its minutes are approved 
annually by the Quarterly Conference, and thus its action 
becomes Quarterly-Conference action. 

The principal defect in this plan of organization lies in 
the large number of standing committees through which 
the official board functions. The following are elected in 
every church or charge, either by the Quarterly Conference 
or the official board by order of the General Conference: 

1. Apportioned Benevolences. 

2. Christian Stewardship. 

3. Foreign Missions. 

4. Home Missions and Church Extension. 

5. Religious Instruction. 

6. Tracts. 

7. Temperance. 

8. Education. 

9. Education for Negroes. 

10. Hospitals. 

11. Church Records. 

12. Auditing Accounts. 

13. Parsonage and Furniture. 

14. Church Music. 

15. Estimating Ministerial Support. 


PLANS OF ORGANIZATION 


135 


16. Examination Local Preachers. 

17. Church Property. 

18. Finance. 

In addition, authority is conferred to create “such other 
committees as may be thought necessary,” so that frequently 
the list is materially longer. 

It is clear that many of these committees are supposed 
to represent the General Boards of the denomination in the 
local church, presumably informing the congregation con¬ 
cerning their work and soliciting funds. Inasmuch, how¬ 
ever, as this is an important part of the pastor’s task, as¬ 
sisted by the Finance Committee, these committees almost 
never function. Other committees are designed to serve 
some actual need in the local church, but many of them 
function so imperfectly that duplication, friction, waste, 
confusion, misunderstanding, general inefficiency, and even 
carelessness are written large everywhere. These con¬ 
siderations have caused some thoughtful leaders to seek 
a way of coordinating the activities of the many commit¬ 
tees and organizations without contravening the discipline. 

The suggestion has been made repeatedly that the pastor 
should appoint a “council” or “cabinet” composed of one 
or more representatives from the chief organizations in the 
church, whose business should be the unification of the 
work of the several societies. 1 “This cabinet will meet 
and receive the program of activities of each of the several 
organizations, and from these compile one general program 
of activities for the whole church (which it is well to pub¬ 
lish for the general information of the church membership), 
or it would be better still if this cabinet should suggest to 
all the organizations represented a comprehensive program 
in which all would have a part.” 2 The cabinet, of course, 

'So Fisher in The Way to Win; Cook, in A Working Program for 
the Local Church, and Tippy and Kern in A Methodist Church and 
Its Work. 

'Warren F. Cook, A Working Program for the Local Church, 
P. 25. 



j 36 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


would be an unofficial body. It could do nothing more than 
advise. But it would be a powerful agent in creating public 
opinion in the church which the official board would surely 
respect. If any complain that such a cabinet is unauthorized 
by the Discipline, reply may be made, “Neither is the bish¬ 
op’s cabinet at the Annual Conference.” 

Yet another method of unification might be to create sev¬ 
eral standing committees, in addition to the cabinet, to 
supervise the great essential tasks of the church. These 
are: (i) Worship, (2) Evangelism, (3) Religious Educa¬ 
tion, (4) Service, (5) Finance. The work of these com¬ 
mittees would be to correlate and supervise the activities 
of all agencies at work in their respective fields. Each com¬ 
mittee would report directly to the official board, or to the 
cabinet, which, in turn, would unify the programs of the 
several standing committees before reporting to the board. 
These committees could he ordered under existing authority 
to create “such other committees as may he thought neces¬ 
sary .” 3 They might be composed, in part at least, of the 
membership of committees and organizations which they re¬ 
spectively supervise. For example, the “Committee on Wor¬ 
ship” would absorb the committees on “Music” and “Pul¬ 
pit Supply,” and might include representatives from the 
Epworth League and Sunday school. The pastor should 
be a member ex officio of all such standing committees, pos¬ 
sibly the chairman of each. 

Books Recommended for Further Study 

Fred B. Fisher, The Way to Win. 

Albert F. McGarrah, Modern Church Management. 

Warren F. Cook, A Working Program for the Local Church. 

Tippy and Kern, A Methodist Church and Its Work. 

Discipline, Methodist Episcopal Church, 1920. 


*See Discipline (1920), 112: 2. 



Diagram of Proposed Plan of Organization Through Committees and Pastor’s Cabinet 


PLANS OF ORGANIZATION 


137 



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CHAPTER XIII 


THE ADMINISTRATION OF WORSHIP 

The present chapter will deal briefly with the subject of 
worship from the general point of view of the administra¬ 
tor rather than the specific point of view of the liturgist, 
which was presented in the first section of this book. 

1. The Standing Committee on Worship should be com¬ 
posed of not more than six besides the pastor. These might 
well be the chairman of the Music Committee, the chairman 
of the Pulpit Supply Committee, the organist, the choir¬ 
master, the Sunday-school superintendent, and the presi¬ 
dent of the Epworth League. The scope of their activities 
would include all that has to do with the enrichment of 
public worship in the church service, the Sunday school, and 
the Epworth League. Their judgment should be secured 
before new hymnals and songbooks are purchased, and 
before singers, organists, and directors of music are em¬ 
ployed. They should make, from time to time, constructive 
criticism to the official board looking toward the improve¬ 
ment of the worship of all organizations in the church. 
Moreover, they should, by every means in their power, 
encourage private and family prayer throughout the mem¬ 
bership of the church. They should cooperate with the 
Epworth League in promoting the “Morning-Watch” idea 
and recommend worthy books of devotion for individuals 
and manuals for domestic worship. 

2. The committee might request the pastor to use a whole 
service occasionally for instructing the congregation in the 
ideals and principles of public worship as set forth in the 
first section of this book. The disorder that mars much 
free worship is not due to conscious irreverence, but to the 
unhappy fact that many people have never been taught to 
worship. They have gone to church all their lives “to hear 

138 





WORSHIP 


i39 


the sermon/' and have not understood that they were them¬ 
selves expected to make a contribution to common prayer. 
This instruction should be given as early in the life of the 
child as possible. But it will be helpful, too, to instruct the 
adults in the public congregation if they are unenlightened 
concerning ideals of worship. One of the notable mem¬ 
ories in the life of a certain minister has to do with a Sunday 
morning when he took the congregation into his confidence, 
showing how important were the contributions of the con¬ 
gregation itself, the choir, the ushers, and the janitor as 
well as that of the minister to common prayer. 

The best opportunity for teaching social worship in the 
average church is to be found in the Sunday school. A few 
superintendents understand that the introductory service is 
not merely a mechanical way of beginning the work of the 
school. But not many. The average Sunday-school or¬ 
chestra may serve some useful purpose in holding the in¬ 
terest of the players to the school, but it seldom induces the 
worshipful mood. Noise, “pep,” “jazz”—sometimes be¬ 
cause it pleases the leader, and sometimes because it is sup¬ 
posed to have a disciplinary value on restless pupils—con¬ 
stitute the ideal of many superintendents for the “opening 
exercises.” It should be a vital part of all true religious 
education to teach boys and girls to worship. The time to 
do this is in the early part of the service. “To bring each 
person in attendance into the conscious presence of God 
for a few moments every Sunday is one of the splendid 
privileges presented to officers and teachers of the school.” 1 

3. Every consideration which can be urged in behalf of 
graded instruction in the church school may be urged like¬ 
wise in behalf of graded worship. The absence of children 
from public worship is generally remarked upon with regret. 
Can it be expected, however, that active young human be¬ 
ings will enjoy sitting for an hour or more through a service 
that was never designed to meet a need of which they are 


A^an Oosterzee, op. cit., p. 445 - 



140 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


conscious? Everything is arranged for the adult section 
of the congregation—hymns, prayers, anthems, and sermon, 
all beyond the understanding of boys and girls. Have we 
any moral right to insist upon or expect the children to 
attend public worship unless the service is adapted to their 
needs ? They are not “little men and women/’ as we some¬ 
times declare. They differ from adults as radically in men¬ 
tal and spiritual matters as in physical. They are sui gen¬ 
eris. Adult religion no more fits them than do adult clothes. 
Forms and methods of worship must be designed to meet 
their peculiar spiritual needs. They must be trained to 
worship. But they will never learn to worship by simply 
looking on while older people worship. Opportunity must 
be given them to express directly their own feelings, as is 
not and cannot be done in the ordinary service of worship. 
Respect for personality will eventually compel us to concede 
the principle of graded worship and provide such oppor¬ 
tunities for the expression and development of the child’s 
faith as are adapted to his several stages of growth. 

Many pastors are experimenting with the “Children’s 
Church”—an organization modeled after the ordinary 
church, but composed entirely of children, transacting its 
own business and conducting its own services of worship, 
often at the hour when the adults are met for formal wor¬ 
ship. The success of this experiment always depends, of 
course, on the personality of the adult leader who is in 
charge. Others are attempting to convert the “Opening 
Exercises” of the Sunday school into “Junior Worship.” 
Where the several departments of the Sunday school are in¬ 
dependently organized and meet in separate rooms it is easily 
possible to have worship adapted to the ages which are found 
in each group. Still others bring the Sunday-school children 
into the public worship of the church and introduce elements 
into that service, such as a children’s song and a short chil¬ 
dren’s sermon, which will appeal especially to them, dismiss¬ 
ing them before the moment has arrived for the usual ser¬ 
mon. Each of these methods has something to commend it. 


WORSHIP 


141 

4. There is no doubt that the cause of social worship is 
greatly served by having the place of worship kept sacred 
for that particular purpose. It is true that play may be as 
legitimate as prayer. Nevertheless many find it difficult to 
enter into a worshipful frame of mind in a room which is 
open to all causes. A minstrel show in a church is incon¬ 
gruous, but not much more so than many other things that 
are admitted. If there is but one room for all purposes, 
of course one must do the best he can. But when it is 
possible to arrange for concerts, lectures, plays, etc., in some 
other than the room used for public worship, let it be done 
by all means. 

Books Recommended for Further Study 

Hugh Hartshorne, Worship in the Sunday School. 

Weldon F. Crossland, The Junior Church in Action. 

Charles E. McKinley, Educational Evangelism. 


CHAPTER XIV 


THE ADMINISTRATION OF EVANGELISM 

1. The Standing Committee on Evangelism should 
be composed of representatives of all the organizations 
which attempt definite evangelistic work in the local church, 
together with the pastor and one or two members of the 
official board. The committee will supervise and coordinate 
the evangelistic work of the several organizations. Not 
later than October first it should present a unified program 
of evangelism for the succeeding twelve months. 

2. Principles of Evangelism. There is no single term 
that will more accurately describe the total task of the 
church than the word “evangelism,” provided it be in¬ 
terpreted broadly. In specifying the principles of evan¬ 
gelism we are only trying to define the idea in such a way 
as to include its larger meanings. 

a. Evangelism is not primarily a matter of delivering the 
Christian message, as was represented in a widely circulated 
book some years ago called The Evangelization of the World 
in this Generation. Dr. John R. Mott, the author of this help¬ 
ful volume, distinctly affirmed that by “evangelization” he 
did not mean the conversion of the world, but merely such 
a general proclamation of the gospel that every person in 
the world should have the opportunity to hear of Christ 
and so to accept him. Knowledge of Christ must precede 
devotion to him, but there must be no complacency over 
having proclaimed his gospel in a professional fashion. 
To be saved is not identical with thinking, or acting, or 
feeling a certain way. In its highest sense it means con¬ 
scious fellowship between a man and the Infinite God. To 
prevail upon others to establish that fellowship it is neces¬ 
sary to live sacrificially as well as to speak eloquently and 
informingly. 


142 


EVANGELISM 


M3 


b. Evangelism must be adequate in its motive. Some 
years ago a young minister at a camp meeting, in concluding 
a hearty sermon, invited any who would to confess publicly 
their discipleship. He had failed to note that few, if any, 
of those present were irreligious, and acted as though a 
considerable number were well outside the Kingdom. His 
invitation was earnest but perfunctory, and evoked no re¬ 
sponse. Nevertheless, he turned from section to section 
until he had completed the semicircle of pews; then, but¬ 
toning his coat about him, exclaimed, ‘‘Well, I have de¬ 
livered my soul!” That statement revealed the motive 
which impelled him in his evangelistic work. Conscious of 
a certain duty, he went through what he conceived to be the 
appropriate motions, but with as much real enthusiasm as 
Jonah manifested in going to Nineveh. Not to save our 
own souls, not to add a certain number to the church, but 
the feeling that men are miserable, and poor, and blind, and 
naked if they do not walk in fellowship with God consti¬ 
tutes a motive really adequate for the work of evangelism. 

c. Evangelism must not be identified exclusively with 
exceptional and irregular methods of work. To many 
minds the term suggests only revivalism of the type so pop¬ 
ular in recent years. Revivalism is, indeed, one highly ac¬ 
credited method of doing the work of evangelism. But a 
wise evangelist will not limit himself to a single method 
or time if there are other agencies and occasions that may 
be utilized to advantage. To regard the “special meeting” 
and the “special man” (the professional evangelist) as the 
instruments par excellence for redeeming life, expecting 
little or nothing from the “regular services” and the cus¬ 
tomary ministrations of the pastor, is to fall into the error 
of believing that God is in the irregular in a way that he 
is not in the ordinary and the commonplace. It is beyond 
all question true that God has worked through “the re¬ 
vival” in a notable way. But he does not come to men 
exclusively through that channel. If one can have a re¬ 
vival, let him have it by all means! But do not be cast 


144 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


down if this is impossible. The primary matter is to do 
the work of evangelism, if not by one method, then by an¬ 
other. If one cannot utilize the revival, then try personal 
evangelism and religious education. The slower process 
may be less spectacular but is equally effective—indeed, 
it is the only one that will be effective in dealing with cer¬ 
tain groups. 

d. The scope of evangelistic endeavor should not he lim¬ 
ited to a single phase of the evangelistic task. The program 
of evangelism will include all persons and classes that are 
in need of the spirit of God, and will have to do with the 
whole range of Christian experience. 

(1) Evangelism will concern itself with young people and 
children. Here the problem will be rather preventing the 
contagion of sin than curing the disease after it has been 
contracted, applying the prophylactic rather than the thera¬ 
peutic power of the gospel. In the nature of the case the 
revival method is not very valuable in this type of evan¬ 
gelism. Opportunity must be made, of course, for the child 
to come definitely to spiritual consciousness, choosing for 
himself to follow Christ. And in the sense that such a 
decision should be made publicly, the revival meeting, fre¬ 
quently called “Decision Day,” in the Sunday school will 
be helpful. But even so, it will only supplement the better 
method of educational evangelism by which in the home 
and church, ideally at least, an atmosphere quickeningly 
religious has been created in which through months and 
years of training and oversight the decision made in the 
evangelistic meeting has been slowly ripening. In dealing 
with young life, the matter cannot be concluded once and 
for all. There must be the most careful instruction and 
nurture if the plant is to grow straight and strong to full 
maturity. Religious education rather than the revival will 
be our best reliance here. 

(2) But the work of evangelism must he directed toward 
adult as well as child life. It has been said conversions 
rarely occur after the age of twenty, and that the great 


EVANGELISM 


145 


opportunity for recruiting the membership of the church is 
to be found among the young rather than the older people. 
This emphasis has had an unfortunate effect in so far as it 
has made the church hopeless concerning the spiritual re¬ 
demption of adult life. The gospel yet possesses curative 
as well as preventive value. The novelists, the poets, and 
the dramatists are ever asserting the fact of spiritual re¬ 
newal for life that has become brutalized. 1 This is not an 
appropriate time, then, for the church to surrender its faith 
in the “recoverability of human nature at its worst/’ We 
must seek to save lost men and women as well as to keep 
boys and girls from becoming lost. No pastor is discharg¬ 
ing his full duty unless he includes both these classes in the 
scope of his evangelism. The revival method is more help¬ 
ful in work with adults than in dealing with young people. 
But in most instances even here it must be supplemented by 
diligent personal evangelism and intelligent religious edu¬ 
cation. 

(3) Evangelism has to do with the whole range of Chris¬ 
tian experience—with later stages as well as with the be¬ 
ginnings of Christian living. It is here that the revival 
meeting seems to render its largest service to-day—as an 
occasion for interpreting to people already religious in at 
least a formal sense the deeper significance of faith and 
trust in God. Few “outsiders” attend such meetings. Even 
the great tabernacle meetings in American cities attract 
chiefly persons who are already members of churches. In¬ 
stead of complaining that this is so, one should seize gladly 
the opportunity to enrich and stabilize the faith of these 
believing ones by setting forth the doctrines of assurance, 
regeneration, and sanctification in wholesome terms and 
endeavoring to lead them into the reality for which these 
great words stand. What a pity that few except unre- 
flective extremists are saying anything to the modern 
church about these vital matters! For this reason, if for 

Tor example, Tolstoy's Resurrection and Masefield’s Everlasting 
Mercy. 



146 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


no other, special meetings should be held in every church 
every year. 

(4) Evangelism must concern itself with the collective as 
well as the individual life of men. It must seek to accom¬ 
plish a social as well as a personal redemption. This means 
specifically that the principles of Christian ethics must be 
recognized as binding upon groups as well as individuals, 
and that the divorce between morality, on the one hand, 
and business, industry, politics, and diplomacy on the other, 
shall be done away. The fact of current ethical dualism 
can hardly be denied. We have one standard of action for 
some relationships and another for others. Toward his 
own wife and children, a man will act generously and un¬ 
selfishly as though nothing were of consequence but the 
great human values, never once thinking of exploiting them 
economically. But the same man, scarcely aware of what 
he does, may deliberately act according to very different 
principles toward other men’s wives and children who work 
for him. These have precisely the same fundamental right 
to human consideration as his family—yet he regards their 
welfare and happiness as distinctly subordinate to his own 
personal profit. We have been told that religion cannot 
be mixed with business or politics. That only means that 
Christian principles of action cannot be applied to these 
matters. The object of social evangelism is to extend the 
authority of Christian ethics over all relationships, and 
exalt the same standard for public and social conduct as 
admittedly controls for private and individual action. It 
is primarily a problem in regeneration—to transform the 
spirit of our collective life until it may be said that Christ 
dwells in the heart of the group as well as in the heart of 
the individual. 

It is obvious that evangelism of this kind must employ 
the educational method. The ideal must be taught, pa¬ 
tiently, kindly, but consistently, throughout the whole year, 
by every teaching agency in the church—the pulpit, the 
Sunday-school class, and the brotherhood organization, etc., 


EVANGELISM 


147 

not to the exclusion of other important matters, but ac¬ 
cording to its proper desert. 

e. Evangelism must not be set over against religious edu¬ 
cation, or social service , or scholarship in a false antithesis 
as though inherently antagonistic to them. Let it be said 
again that these are as certainly instruments for doing the 
work of evangelism as is the revival. The aim of all true 
religious education is not primarily to impart instruction 
but to produce the believing soul. The purpose of all true 
social service is to create an environment in which it will 
be easier to be good, an atmosphere more congenial to 
spirituality. The end of true scholarship is that the work¬ 
man may be better furnished for his task of saving men— 
not that he may be excused from it. 

3. The Methods of Evangelism. Wise pastors are 
using three agencies simultaneously to win men to Christ. 

a. The Revival. The features of the typical “revival 
meeting ,, are familiar to anyone who is identified with the 
work of the church. 

(1) The time of the meetings should be adjusted to the 
convenience of the largest number in the congregation. In 
rural sections midwinter usually is opportune. In towns 
and cities the fall or the spring may be as suitable as the 
winter. Increasingly Protestant churches are taking advan¬ 
tage of the Lenten season for special meetings. This cus¬ 
tom has much to commend it. Such services seldom con¬ 
tinue more than three weeks, and often no more than two. 
Palm Sunday, immediately preceding Easter, is usually 
set apart for Decision Day exercises in the Sunday school. 
Easter is In-Gathering Day when members are received into 
the church. 

(2) The aim of the revival meetings, as stated above, 
should be kept clearly in mind. They are not the only, or 
even the chief agency, for recruiting the membership of the 
church. Probably their greatest value lies in providing an 
opportunity for emphasizing daily for a period the deeper 
aspects of religious experience to the membership of the 


148 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


church, as we have already seen. Any pastor will have 
had a very “successful meeting” if he is able to secure the 
attendance of a great majority of his congregation at these 
services and awakens in them a desire for reality in religion. 
To this end he is warranted in asking certain classes and or¬ 
ganizations to attend in a body on certain nights, and using 
other legitimate methods to stimulate interest on the part 
of the people already connected with the church. The 
quickest way to win the unchurched is to make the church 
membership dynamic. On the other hand one certainly 
should use the special meetings for anything they will do 
in reaching persons not identified with the church. Always 
in the Sunday school, the Ladies’ Aid Society, the Brother¬ 
hood, and other organizations, there are some who while 
sympathetic have never actually taken the vows of a Chris¬ 
tian. These should be the special objects of prayerful en¬ 
deavor during the meetings. 

(3) The preaching is always an important element in 
special meetings. Frequently the pastor feels that he cannot 
do all the other things that must be done—particularly the 
personal work—and preach each evening in addition. It 
may appear that a good solution of his problem will be to 
employ a professional evangelist. Without reflecting upon 
this class of workers, one may offer a word of caution 
against their frequent use in the church. They are exceed¬ 
ingly costly. The same amount of money could be spent in 
other ways to greater profit. They emphasize the extraor¬ 
dinary and the spectacular until the church tends to forget 
that God may come in quieter fashion and through less novel 
means. Often they are champions of extravagant doctrines 
which create trouble for the church after the evangelist has 
gone. And almost never do they possess social vision. A 
much safer plan every way, and generally quite as helpful 
in the long run, is to invite a brother pastor to assist one, 
offering one’s own service in exchange at another time. In 
this way the church secures as good preaching as it would 
get from an evangelist, and that from one who has the 


EVANGELISM 


149 


pastor's point of view. The meeting may be less spectacu¬ 
lar, but the quality of work is likely to be finer. This will 
release the pastor himself for that indefatigable calling and 
earnest personal work without which no meeting can 
succeed. 

(4) The music should have careful consideration. It may 
be well to employ a competent person to take charge of the 
singing. A good chorus may be organized. The better 
type of gospel song is generally preferred to the church 
hymn for congregational use in such services. 

(5) Preparation for the meetings is exceedingly important. 
Revivals have never broken out magically. Some one, con¬ 
sciously or unconsciously, has always made earnest and in¬ 
telligent preparation for them. Cottage prayer meetings 
are usually helpful, provided the leadership is competent 
and the idea of the meetings is kept to the fore. The mem¬ 
bership of the church should be urged to prepare personal 
prayer lists and undertake such personal work as they may 
feel impelled to do. At this time the organization for per¬ 
sonal evangelism, to be described later, should be in perfect 
condition. The several societies of the church should be 
asked to lay aside all activities during the meetings which 
would prevent their members from attending the services. 
The object in all this is to induce a prayerful and expectant 
mood upon the church. 

The pastor himself will find it especially helpful to read, 
in the weeks preceding the meetings, the biographies of great 
evangelists, together with descriptive volumes on the subject 
of the revival. These will be very suggestive as to methods 
and his heart will be warmed to the task. Let him be as¬ 
sured that he will need all the enthusiasm he can muster, 
for a revival calls for an enormous expenditure of energy 
on his part. The fire must begin in his own heart before it 
spreads to the congregation. They will look to him for lead¬ 
ership in all things. However much personal work he may 
prevail upon others to do, he must do more than they all. 
A series of special meetings, however, that succeeds in 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


150 

deepening the religious life of the church membership is 
worth the cost and remains a very precious memory. 

(6) Union Meetings. In recent years a union meeting of 
all the churches in the community in some central place, 
frequently a temporary tabernacle erected for the purpose, 
has become familiar in all parts of the country. Such a 
meeting doubtless does some good. But experience is mak¬ 
ing the church critical of this method of evangelism. It 
does assemble great numbers of people for religious pur¬ 
poses and bring together the several denominations, coop¬ 
eratively engaging in the performance of a common task. 
And possibly it touches an occasional person who will not 
go to church. But the tabernacle meeting does not culti¬ 
vate the church-going habit, as Professor Hannan suggests 
in his excellent chapter on this subject. 2 Moreover, the 
work in such crowds must be impersonal and superficial to 
a high degree. Very frequently it appears that false names 
and addresses are registered on the declaration blanks; that 
the great majority, some say ninety per cent, of the audi¬ 
ences are composed of Christian people; that the statistics 
employed for advertising purposes are generally misleading, 
five hundred cards, for example, being reported as five hun¬ 
dred conversions, whereas four hundred of them may repre¬ 
sent people already members of churches; that the manner 
in which the alleged “free-will offerings” are worked up is 
very disillusionizing for those on the inside of the organ¬ 
ization. It is generally required that the cooperating 
churches suspend their regular activities for the period of 
the meeting. The resulting demoralization is too big a 
price to pay for the good accomplished. Better than one 
“Big Meeting” are meetings held simultaneously in all 
churches. Beyond all question the aggregate results usually 
are much greater. If a union meeting be desired let it be 
one conducted by the several pastors who take their turns 
at preaching, and who collectively retain authority over 
the service. 


Z F. Watson Hannan, Evangelism, p. ioof. 



EVANGELISM 


151 

b. Personal Evangelism. A second method of evangelism, 
and an indispensable aid to successful revivalism, is per¬ 
sonal evangelism. Moreover, it is a method whereby evan¬ 
gelism may be made continuous throughout the year, bring¬ 
ing some people into Christian fellowship each month. 
Many pastors who have no conspicuous success as revival¬ 
ists are very successful in the more quiet and sustained work 
of personal evangelism. 

The name is highly fitting. Religion in the Christian 
sense is the establishment and deepening of fellowship be¬ 
tween two persons—a man and God. Personal evangelism 
ideally means one person introducing another person to the 
Infinite Person. And that can be done every week in the 
year, not only in the service of public worship but any place 
two people can meet for quiet conference. 

(1) This is preeminently the work of the pastor himself. 
With the same steady purpose that characterizes a life 
insurance agent in following up his prospects the minister 
should keep in mind particular individuals whom he covets 
for Jesus Christ. Of course it is understood that his work 
will be intelligent. He will not “nag” them—only keep his 
purpose steadily before him and be ready with suggestion 
when the opportunity shall open for conversation on re¬ 
ligious subjects. On the other hand, he should not be too 
fearful of being tactless. Better a blundering attempt at 
personal evangelism than no attempt at all. The sincerity 
of purpose which shines through the awkward movement 
may redeem it and make it the power of God unto salvation. 

(2) But the pastor alone cannot do all that should be 
done. He should associate with himself in this work a group 
of persons in his church with whom he counsels frequently, 
providing them with names and addresses of men and 
women upon whom they are to call, and asking them to 
report the results of their visits. These personal workers 
should be selected with considerable care, for unhappily 
some who would most quickly volunteer for this service are 
least effective. It is unwise to give great publicity to the 



152 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


existence of this group of helpers. Their work may be 
more vital if unofficial. They should be especially active 
preceding and during special meetings, but their work should 
continue after the meetings have ended. 

(3) The “Constituency Roll” is the list of prospective 
members and believers in whom the “Personal Workers” are 
interested. The list is usually made up about as follows: 
(a) Contributors who are not members of the church; (b) 
husbands of wives who are members; (c) wives of hus¬ 
bands who are members; (d) members of the Sunday 
school and other organizations who are not members of 
the church; (e) attendants who are not members; (f) new 
people who may be members of our church elsewhere; (g) 
most of the people living in the community who do not be¬ 
long to the membership or constituency of some other 
church. 

c. Educational Evangelism. In its true sense, educa¬ 
tional evangelism, the third method generally accredited in 
doing the work of evangelism, would include the whole 
task of religious education. In this place, however, the 
meaning is deliberately restricted to the days of crisis in the 
educational work of the church when something like the 
revival method and atmosphere prevail, supplemented by 
special instruction in preparation for church membership. 
We mean here what others mean by Sunday-school evan¬ 
gelism. The purpose is to supplement the work of teaching 
by giving the pupils in the Sunday school an opportunity 
to announce publicly their purpose to follow Christ. Sun¬ 
day-school evangelism in this sense merely reaps the fruit 
of months and years of sowing and cultivating through the 
regular educational agencies of the church. The admin¬ 
istrative problem involves thorough planning for such 
special meetings—usually called Decision-Day services—as 
may be useful, and the organization of training classes later 
in preparation for church membership. 

(1) Decision Days. At least two such days should have a 
place in the calendar of the Sunday-school year—one in the 


EVANGELISM 


153 


autumn, before Thanksgiving, and another in the spring, 
before Easter. They should never be held suddenly or 
with inadequate preparation. The pastor and Sunday- 
school superintendent should take the whole force of teach¬ 
ers and officers into their confidence several weeks previous 
to each service, for the success of the enterprise turns more 
upon the cooperation of the teachers than upon any other 
single factor. Each teacher of a class above the Junior 
Division should concentrate upon the matter of winning 
every pupil for Christ and visit them personally to that end. 

On the day of the service, and on the Sabbath preceding, 
the pastor should meet the whole Sunday-School Board for 
prayer and conference that no detail shall be overlooked. 
When the hour has arrived the teachers and officers should 
be in their places promptly, that there be no needless delay 
in marking rolls and receiving the offerings. Special music 
may be helpful preceding the address—likewise a good 
congregational hymn designed to induce the mood of wor¬ 
ship. The address as a rule should not be more than fifteen 
or twenty minutes in length, and should conclude with an 
invitation to the pupils to make public their confessions of 
discipleship. Some pastors provide teachers with “Dec¬ 
laration Cards” which are distributed to their respective 
classes at this point, the declaration frequently being double, 
expressing (1) a desire to be known as a Christian, and (2) 
a wish to unite with the church. Others prefer to ask those 
who will do so to confess their newly formed purposes by 
coming to the platform to join them in a session of prayer, 
the names and addresses being taken at the close of the 
service by the teachers. The latter method has a touch of 
reality which the former seems to lack. 

The foregoing method is advisable in dealing with pupils 
in the Intermediate, Senior, and Adult Departments, col¬ 
lectively or by departments and classes. Something less 
formal and less intense is desirable for pupils in the Junior 
Department (nine to eleven years). A better plan here is 
for the pastor, on the Sabbath preceding Decision Day, to 


154 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


announce simply, but earnestly, that on the following Sun¬ 
day he wishes to organize the children into classes prepara¬ 
tory to church membership, and urge each child who may 
wish to join the church to secure the consent of his parents 
to do so. There should be an understanding with the teach¬ 
ers of the department that they shall visit the parents dur¬ 
ing the week to explain clearly what is contemplated and 
ask their cooperation. For nothing is gained by opposing 
the parents in a matter of this kind. On Decision Day a 
brief service of prayer and consecration with this depart¬ 
ment to itself will suffice, in which the children who will 
join the preparatory classes make that fact known. The im¬ 
portant problem will be found later in conducting the train¬ 
ing classes in such fashion that the children come to reality 
in prayer and worship. 

(2) Training Classes. No person should be received into 
full membership in the church who has not been personally 
instructed in the meaning of religion and church member¬ 
ship, whether young or old, whether won by the revival 
method or by personal work. In the work of such classes 
regard must be had for the principle of graded instruction. 
It will seldom be possible to organize all probationers into a 
single class because of the great difference in ages. More¬ 
over, it is desirable from an educational point of view to 
keep these classes small. Thus the instruction may be 
adapted to the several types of understanding and made 
personal. 

It cannot be emphasized too strongly that responsibility 
for this instruction rests squarely upon the pastor, whoever 
he may be, however large his congregation, and whatever 
other obligations he may feel. Nothing takes precedence in 
importance over this work. Any energetic minister can, and 
should, teach two classes besides his work of preaching 
and shepherding. They should be <( The Teacher Training 
Class’ and “The Probationers’ Class.” Thus he can de¬ 
termine the type of instruction in his Sunday school and 
the beliefs of those coming into church membership. In 


EVANGELISM 


155 


the event that it seems best to organize several groups to 
meet simultaneously, he must call to his help intelligent men 
and women—his paid assistants, if there are such, otherwise 
volunteer workers. These classes should meet regularly 
throughout a period of several weeks, or even months. 

The constant aim of the teachers should be to bring 
candidates for church membership to the point of reality in 
Christian experience, interpret effectively the fundamental 
beliefs of Christianity, and explain the history and polity 
of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The materials for 
such instruction may be gathered from the Bible, church 
history, the more popular statements of Christian doctrine, 
the literature of missions and social service, and the Dis¬ 
cipline. Several “Manuals” are available, but the teacher 
must work over for himself all the material he handles so 
that he may present it in his own way. 

Besides instruction, there should be expression on the 
part of the several members of the class —training in ac¬ 
tivity. This should consist in acts of devotion, teaching 
them to worship aloud through prayer and testimony. The 
value of attendance upon public worship should be incul¬ 
cated. Suggestion should be made as to different ways in 
which service of a practical and humanitarian sort may be 
rendered to the church and the community. But above all 
else it should be made clear that an ethical life at home, on 
the playground, and in business is the greatest service which 
the Christian can render. Thus “church work” becomes 
identified with daily living. 

4. A Comprehensive Program of Evangelism. The 
unified program of evangelism which the committee will 
report to the official board for the church year might look 
somewhat as follows: 

1. October 

a. Revision of Constituency Roll and organization 
of Personal Workers’ Groups. 

b. Special evangelistic meetings of the Epworth 
League. 


156 THE PASTORAL OFFICE 

2. November 

a. Decision Day in the Sunday school. 

b. Organization of Probationers’ Classes. 

3. December 

a. Take advantage of Christmas season to create 
evangelistic atmosphere at some of the regular 
services. 

b. Watch Night Service. 

4. January 

Week of Prayer for the church in all phases of 
its work. 

5. February 

a. Utilize some of the regular services for evan¬ 
gelistic purposes. 

b. Plan for special Pre-Easter services, arranging 
for cottage prayer-meetings, etc. 

6. March-April 

a. Pre-Easter meetings. 

b. Palm Sunday—Decision Day in Sunday school. 

c. Easter 

(1) Reception of Probationers into full mem¬ 
bership. 

(2) Reception of new group of probationers. 

7. May-June 

Organization of new Probationers’ Classes. 

8. The first Sunday of each month to be a special day for 
the reception of new members by transfer and on pro¬ 
bation. This will give an objective which the Per¬ 
sonal Workers group can keep in mind. 

Books Recommended for Further Study 

Charles L. Goodell, Pastoral and Personal Evangelism, Pastor 
and Evangelist, Heralds of a Passion. 

F. Watson Hannan, Evangelism. 

Edwin H. Hughes, Letters on Evangelism. 

L. M. Edwards, Every Church Its Own Evangelist. 
Washington Gladden, The Christian Pastor, Chapter XVII. 


EVANGELISM 


157 


Henry C. Mabie, Method in Soul-Winning. 

Harold Begbie, Twice Born Men. 

H. W. Beecher, Yale Lectures, Second Series, Chapters VIII-XI. 
Frederick L. Fagley, Parish Evangelism. 

William S. Mitchell, Elements of Personal Christianity. 

Fred B. Fisher, The Way to Win. 

H. C. Trumbull, Individual Work for Individuals. 

John T. Stone, Recruiting for Christ. 

W E. Biederwolf, Evangelism. 

Bertha Conde, Human Element in the Making of a Christian. 

J. H. Jowett, The Passion for Souls. 

Frederick D. Leete, Every Day Evangelism. 

C. G. Trumbull, Taking Men Alive. 

John T. Faris, The Book of Personal Work. 

Charles E. McKinley, Educational Evangelism. 

W. H. Burgwin, Practical Evangelism. 

A. W. Leonard, Evangelism in the Remaking of the World. 


CHAPTER XV 


THE ADMINISTRATION OF RELIGIOUS 

EDUCATION 

Whole alcoves have been added to the libraries of our 
colleges and theological schools in the past dozen years on 
the subject of religious education. This literary productiv¬ 
ity indicates that there is no subject in which the church 
is more interested. The pastor should make himself 
familiar with this new body of literature. Some of it 
is included in the Conference Courses of Study. In ad¬ 
dition, the books listed at the end of this chapter should be 
read and kept near at hand for ready reference, and to 
loan, perchance, to Sunday-school workers. Only a few 
pages may be devoted to the subject in this volume where 
the outlook is upon the whole task of the church rather than 
upon a single phase of its work. We shall attempt nothing 
more than to note briefly the chief factors in the admin¬ 
istrative problem, leaving the questions of practice and 
method for special study. 

i. The Committee on Religious Education. This 
committee should be composed of from three to seven of 
the leading men and women in the church interested in 
educational matters. It should act as the school board of 
the church. The present Committee on Religious Instruc¬ 
tion might be competent for this task if its powers were 
enlarged so that it would sustain a more general relation to 
all the organizations of the church. In a general way the 
duties of the Committee on Religious Education would be 
to study the educational problems of the local church and 
community, to exercise supervision over all the educational 
work of the church with a view of avoiding duplication and 
waste, and to make such recommendations to the official 

158 


RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 


159 

board as would improve the quality of religious teaching 
in the church. 

2. The Administrative Problem. The more impor¬ 
tant elements of the problem of administration are as fol¬ 
lows : 

a. Institutions. Several institutions besides the church 
are engaged in the religious education of the child, namely, 
(1) the home, (2) the public school, and (3) the com¬ 
munity. The church should understand the contribution of 
each to the common task and seek the intelligent coopera¬ 
tion of all. 

Among these the home is supreme by virtue of the longer 
period in which the child is in its care, the greater intimacy 
of its contacts, the informality and spontaneity of its in¬ 
struction, and the democracy of family life. The modern 
home is breaking down, however, as an institution of re¬ 
ligious education. The endeavor on the part of the church 
in this connection should be to encourage family worship 
by urging the erection of “family altars” and calling at¬ 
tention to some of the valuable manuals of prayer which 
will be helpful to those who find prayer difficult. More¬ 
over, the home should be continually informed by church 
visitors of the work which the church is doing with the 
children, and its sympathetic cooperation asked for. 

The public school, while not officially responsible for 
teaching religion, nevertheless is related in a definite manner 
to the problem. It is interested in moral education indi¬ 
rectly, at least, through the personal contacts of teachers 
and pupils, and this is an important phase of religious edu¬ 
cation. In several States, notably North Dakota and Colo¬ 
rado, academic credit is given in the public schools for 
courses of instruction offered in churches which meet the 
standards imposed upon the public school itself. In 
Gary, Indiana, this cooperation has been carried much fur¬ 
ther. The children in the public school may be excused 
two hours each week, at the request of parents, to receive 
religious instruction in their respective churches on school 


160 THE PASTORAL OFFICE 

time. Thus the church and state cooperate in their com¬ 
mon task without trespassing on each other’s special field. 

Not least significant is the general atmosphere that per¬ 
vades the community as a whole. The church and the 
home and the public school may work in perfect harmony 
but to little purpose if community ideals of recreation, 
business, education, and politics are low. On the con¬ 
trary, if these ideals are high, the church and home and 
public school will have in the community a friendly ally in 
their work. 

Finally, the church must not deceive itself concerning 
the defects which mar its own educational activities. While 
the public school requires the presence of the child several 
hours each day under trained instructors who are provided 
with adequate material equipment to teach arithmetic, 
spelling, geography, etc., the church has been trying to 
teach religion through untrained teachers who have the 
child one hour each week and who work with inferior 
equipment. Small wonder that we have a generation of 
untaught and confused Christians in our churches who can 
give no good reason for the faith that is in them! 

b. Aim. At the present time there appears to be much 
uncertainty about the true aim of the church in its educa¬ 
tional task. “To teach the Bible,” some say. “To create 
socially efficient persons—that is, persons who have learned 
how to live with other people to their mutual profit,” say 
others. “To increase the membership and benevolences of 
the church,” yet others suggest, by their action if not by 
their words. It may be that any one of these aims, prop¬ 
erly interpreted, would be sufficiently comprehensive. As 
ordinarily stated, however, each leaves much to be desired. 
Religion is essentially an attitude toward God—a fellow¬ 
ship with the Infinite, and to teach religion effectively can¬ 
not mean less than to induce men to take this attitude, 
establish this fellowship. Instruction in Bible and doc¬ 
trine is given, but only as a means to an end. That end is 
to produce, we insist again, the believing soul—to lead the 


RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 


161 


student to make the great adventure of faith and lay hold 
of God at first hand for himself. 

But religion tends to organize for itself certain institu¬ 
tional forms which are necessary to the propagation of re¬ 
ligion. The church is one of these. Religious education, 
then, must concern itself with training for the work of the 
church as well as with the development of the religious 
life. The following definition includes both objects: “The 
functions of the church school are, (a) to develop intelli¬ 
gent and efficient Christian lives consecrated to the ex¬ 
tension of God’s Kingdom on earth, and ( b ) to train ef¬ 
ficient leaders for all phases of church work.” 1 This end 
must ever be kept in view by all who are charged with ad¬ 
ministrative responsibility for religious education, for the 
purpose of the organization will determine necessarily its 
form and program. 

c. Program. The aim of religious education being what 
it is, the program of the church school must provide for (i) 
worship, (2) instruction, and (3) service, for true educa¬ 
tion addresses itself to the total personality. Of course 
it is impossible to isolate one phase of personality from all 
others, but, in general, it may be said that worship is de¬ 
signed primarily to cultivate the religious emotions; in¬ 
struction, to inform the mind with religious knowledge; 
and service, to enlist the will so that religious action may 
become habitual. To plan intelligently the details of this 
triple program and to distribute them properly among the 
several agencies of the church, constitute the heart of the 
administrative problem of the pastor and the Committee 
on Religious Education. 

The volumes recommended at the conclusion of this chap¬ 
ter contain valuable suggestions touching this matter. 

d. Grading. In the Sunday school we are dealing with 
persons in every stage of growth. The graded character of 
the student body requires that the school shall be graded 


*W. S. Athearn, The Church School , p. 1. 



162 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


as to (i) organization, (2) worship, (3) instruction, and 
(4) activities. Some little respect has always been paid 
to this principle. No school puts babies into the older peo¬ 
ple’s classes. Until recently, however, it would have been 
difficult to make an affirmation more specific, for personal 
preferences of the pupils and personal attachments between 
pupils and teachers had more to do with determining classes 
than any other consideration. 2 

(1) Grading the organization means the grouping of 
the pupils into classes, and classes into departments on the 
basis of age and development, and providing for the pro¬ 
motion from lower to higher levels. 

(2) Grading the instruction has to do with both the mat¬ 
ter and method of teaching. It implies that lesson ma¬ 
terials should be selected with the thought of their adapta¬ 
bility to particular groups in mind, and not with a view of 
presenting in all classes the same subject at the same time. 
Grading the method implies the same truth as to the man¬ 
ner of presenting the lesson material. 

(3) Grading the worship assumes that no one order of 
worship is adapted to all ages any more than one type of 
lesson material. So far as possible the worship of the 
Sunday school should be by departments. The “general 
assembly” may have value for special days, but is not good 
for regular occasions. 

(4) Grading the activities is as important as grading the 
instruction, for these two are one flesh. Activities are 
necessary that the pupil may learn the truth by doing it as 
well as by hearing. By this means the pupil is led to ex¬ 
press as well as receive knowledge by impression from the 
teacher. But children do not express themselves as adults. 
For a comprehensive treatment of “the graded school,” 
every pastor should read the books recommended at the 
close of this chapter. 

e. Officers and Teachers. The problem of the admin- 

burton and Mathews, Principles and Ideals for the Sunday 
School, p. 123. 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 


163 

istrator is well-nigh solved when he has selected and trained 
competent associates to assist him, and distributed respon¬ 
sibility intelligently among them. In the Methodist Epis¬ 
copal Church the selection of leaders for the church school 
unmistakably devolves upon the pastor. No teacher can be 
nominated to the Sunday School Board without his con¬ 
currence, and it would be difficult to secure the confirmation 
of a superintendent by the Quarterly Conference in the 
face of his opposition. The most frequent lament heard 
among pastors deals with the dearth of lay leaders or their 
unwillingness to serve. But the work must be done with 
the human material that is available. The only solution of 
this problem is for the pastor to take his teaching office 
seriously. If he ministers to a large church, he may secure 
an expert to whom he can turn over all responsibility for 
the educational work of the church, called usually a director 
of religious education. But not one church in fifty is pre¬ 
pared to employ such a teaching pastor in addition to the 
preaching minister. The only alternative is for the one 
pastor to give himself to the task of training officers and 
teachers for the church school. A few teachers may be 
induced to take a Correspondence Training Course under 
the Board of Sunday Schools at Chicago. In many larger 
towns and cities Community Night Schools of Religious 
Education are doing excellent work in training Sunday- 
school workers. But only a few leaders in each school 
are thus reached. Such agencies do not take the place of 
training classes in the local church. The development of 
these classes should be the pastor's chief concern. It may 
be pleasanter to teach the Brotherhood Class, or lead the 
Boy Scouts, but his general relation to the school as a 
whole forbids his pouring himself out exclusively over a 
few when all need his guidance. Jhe way he may most 
directly minister to all is to fill his subordinate leaders with 
his ideals and spirit, who, in turn, will pass them on to 
others. Every pastor can and should teach two classes, 
as mentioned previously —(/) the Teacher Training Class 


164 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


and (2) the Probationers' Class. In this way he can de¬ 
termine in a very few years what a whole church shall 
believe. 

The first step in the development of a competent staff 
of workers is to invite those who are already teaching in 
the school, but have had no training for their work, together 
with a selected number of young people who seem to be 
potential teachers, to join such a training class. Arrange 
an hour for meeting that will be convenient to the greatest 
number. Speak of the ideals you hold and the opportunity 
for the investment of life that is afforded the conscientious 
Sunday-school teacher. Then outline the course of study 
covering two or three years, having consulted the Teacher 
Training Department of the Board of Sunday Schools pre¬ 
viously as to methods and materials. The course of study 
should include at least four fundamental subjects: 

(1) The pupil, his nature and development at different 
ages, and the way his mind works. 

(2) The materials of study, such as the Bible, church 
history, Christian missions, etc. 

(3) Principles and methods of teaching. 

(4) Organization and administration of the school . 3 

If the pastor can secure others more competent than him¬ 
self to take charge of this class, well and good. If not, 
then he should not shirk the responsibility. If he is not 
ready, he must get ready by reading and study. 

f. Finance. The administrative problem includes the 
element of finance. At the present time the Sunday school 
is a very profitable “side line” for the church. It not only 
pays all its own expenses but, in addition, it makes generous 
contributions to the benevolent work of the church—all of 
this without being a charge against the general budget of 
the church. Would it not be more ideal, however, if the 
church included the expenses of the Sunday school in its 


8 See Organization and Administration of the Sunday School, 
Cuninggim and North, p. 47. 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 


165 

regular budget, and then asked the Sunday school to make 
a contribution toward the expenses of the church? Is not 
the educational work of the church as deserving of support 
by the whole church as the work of the choir and the work 
of the minister? 

In formulating a financial policy for the Sunday school, 
it must be remembered that giving should have educational 
value. It is an expressional activity, supplementing in¬ 
struction by requiring the pupil to act upon the truth as 
well as hear it. Giving that is truly educational is, first of 
all, (1) intelligent . It is prompted by a rational appeal in 
which exact information is presented, and never based pri¬ 
marily on thoughtless impulse. If the pupils can be in¬ 
duced to ask questions or discuss the proposed object of 
benevolence, so much the better. (2) Again, this giving 
must be real. That is, it should be something that is of 
value and belongs to the child himself—not something for 
which he cares little or which he has received for the ask¬ 
ing from another. (3) Moreover, this giving should be 
unselfish. Much so-called charity is actuated by motives 
that are un-Christian. Even in the church the appeal to 
denominational pride and ambition crowds aside the un¬ 
selfish appeal to give without hope of personal or denomina¬ 
tional reward. (4) And, finally, this giving should be 
systematic and regular. Only so will the church have ade¬ 
quate funds to carry on her work without embarrassment. 

Many schools divide the total offering into three parts. 
The first is contributed toward the local expenses of the 
church; the second is set apart for missions and other 
stated benevolences; while the third is kept as a fund from 
which special appropriations are made, from time to time, 
in support generally of local community institutions. This 
fund should be safeguarded by a committee whose recom¬ 
mendation shall be necessary before any appropriation can 
be authorized. 

g. Pupils. Another important factor in the administra¬ 
tive problem of the church school has to do with securing 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


166 

and holding a student body. Ideally every member of 
every family should be enrolled and active in some depart¬ 
ment of the school. This ideal is difficult to attain, nor 
can it be even approximated except by the most diligent 
application. 

(1) The first duty is to hold what we already have. This 
can be done only by making the school a good school. For 
this it is not necessary that it be large, but only that its 
teaching be worthy. “Many a school that is blaming the 
people for their lack of spirituality needs to lay the blame 
for its empty benches on its own sloth and lack of ability.” 
It is altogether possible for a Sunday school to deserve no 
pupils. 

(2) But not all the students can be retained. Death and 
removal, if no other influences, will continually deplete the 
enrollment. Moreover, the community is always growing 
by birth and by the coming of new people from other com¬ 
munities. The obligation to serve these strangers as well 
as the need to replace the natural losses makes it impera¬ 
tive that new pupils shall be recruited intelligently and sys¬ 
tematically. The following methods are generally ap¬ 
proved : 

(a) Let the school understand just what its field may be. 
A map of this field should hang in the room where teach¬ 
ers’ meetings are held. 

(b) A careful census should be taken of this area at 
least once a year, noting the names, ages, sex, and Sunday- 
school affiliations of all who live here. 

(c) After the names of all prospective pupils as revealed 
by the census have been tabulated or catalogued, a per¬ 
sistent effort should be made to secure their enrollment in 
the school. Let personal invitations be given by parish 
visitors, teachers, pupils, and members of the church who 
live in the vicinity. Let these names be put upon a mailing 
list of persons who receive regularly bulletins from the 
church and school. Do not be satisfied with a single invi¬ 
tation. Secure the names of all children under three for 


RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 


167 


the Cradle Roll. Do not be betrayed, however, into the 
folly of conducting a “color contest,” dividing the school 
into rival camps of “reds” and “blues,” each endeavoring 
to secure the larger number of students. The last state of 
a school which adopts this method of increasing its enroll¬ 
ment is nearly always worse than the first. 

(d) A wholesome school spirit should be cultivated. 
This can be done by making the work of the school so much 
worth while that students cannot but be proud of it. 

h. Plan of Organization. The Sunday-school administra¬ 
tor must ever be working over his plan of organization. 
The school includes persons of all ages and both sexes, 
sometimes in larger and sometimes in smaller numbers. 
And the plan of organization will vary according to these 
several factors. A little school of ten or twelve would 
probably have two classes and two teachers, the teachers 
acting as officers. A school of fifty, according to Fergus- 
son, would organize five classes, under five teachers and 
two officers, a superintendent and a secretary; a primary, 
junior, intermediate, senior, and adult class. Each of the 
classes would expand into a department corresponding to 
its name as the enrollment increases to one hundred, five 
hundred, or a thousand, with such additional classes, 
teachers, and officers as the larger enrollment may require. 

The departmental organization generally approved for 
the larger school is as follows: 

(1) A General Superintendent, together with an additional 

superintendent for each department. 

(2) A General Secretary, together with an additional sec¬ 

retary for each department. 

(3) A Treasurer, with such assistants as may be needed. 

(4) Teachers and classes grouped by departments— 

(a) Beginners'—3 to 5 years inclusive. 

( b ) Primary—6 to 8 years inclusive. 

(c) Junior—9 to 11 years inclusive. 

( d ) Intermediate—12 to 14 years inclusive. 

( e ) Senior—15 to 17 years inclusive. 


168 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


(/) Young People’s—18 to 23 years inclusive. 

( g ) Adult—over 23 years. 

( h ) Extension Department with Superintendent and 

Visitors. 

(i) Cradle Roll and Home Department. 

( 5 ) Organists, choristers, and ushers as may be needed 

for the general and departmental assemblies. 

(6) In many classes in the Senior, Young People’s, and 

Adult Departments, the stability of the group has 
been increased by class organizations with officers 
and committees. Such organizations provide new 
opportunities of service, and promote “class spirit.” 

(») Cooperation. The Sunday-school administrator 
must continually strive for cooperation on the part of all 
engaged in the educational task. 

(1) This has to do with the relation of his school to 
other Sunday schools in the community. It has been charged 
that while the public school is a unifying force, the Sunday 
school is a divisive force, setting group against group in 
mutual hostility. This need not be. It is entirely possible 
for the several schools in a community to regard them¬ 
selves as fellow workers on the common task of religious 
education, so dividing the work and the field that no one 
shall be overlooked and the rights of all shall be respected. 

(2) Moreover, it has to do with the public school. There 
should be no censure of the State school as godless. The 
same standards of grading should be followed as far as 
possible in the two schools. And the child should not find 
his teacher on Sunday denying the things that were taught 
him in the public school during the week. 

(3) Again this concerns the spirit of his own organiza¬ 
tion. Every officer and teacher, every department and 
class should have the same attitude and share in the com¬ 
mon enthusiasm. This state of affairs can never obtain if 
an individual or a small group makes out the program and 
demands that the majority shall give unquestioning obedi¬ 
ence. School spirit and loyalty come only from full and 


RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 


169 


frequent discussion, in the most democratic way, on the part 
of the officers, teachers, and pupils, so that whatever de¬ 
cisions may be reached or plans made appear to be the out¬ 
come of the collective thought of the whole group. 

(4) Finally, an effort should be made to correlate into a 
unified program all the educational work that is done by the 
several organizations in the local church. This does not 
imply that all study classes shall meet at the same hour, or 
that no organization shall conduct classes except the Sun¬ 
day school. It only means that an intelligent effort shall 
be made to avoid duplication of classes and subjects. It is 
hard to see why the Epworth League should conduct Bible 
classes in addition to those conducted by the Sunday school. 
It is confusing to have several small mission study classes 
when one good class would be better every way. More¬ 
over, unity, as it applies to the curriculum, requires that 
no important subject shall be overlooked as well as that 
there shall be no waste through duplication. 

j. Building and Equipment. The careful administrator 
will realize that good educational work cannot be done with¬ 
out proper physical equipment and a building adapted to 
school work. The ideal thing would be to have a house 
constructed especially for the Sunday school, providing 
separate rooms for all departments and for most of the 
classes, and completely furnished with the necessary tools 
for teaching. A few churches approximate this ideal 
closely. Most of them fall far short of it, and it will be an 
important part of the administrator’s work to secure better 
housing and equipment for his school. 

The least he can plan on as to housing will be separate 
rooms for the Beginners’, Primary, and Junior Depart¬ 
ments respectively. If necessary, the Intermediate, Senior, 
Young People’s and Adult Departments may meet together 
for worship, but separate classrooms should be provided 
as far as possible for the several classes. The Board of 
Sunday Schools of the Methodist Episcopal Church main¬ 
tains a bureau of architecture and will gladly submit plans 


170 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


and suggestions to any pastor or superintendent contem¬ 
plating a new building or remodeling an old one. 

Good equipment can be secured by any school that really 
desires it. This means, first, that the rooms shall be airy and 
clean. A few good pictures can be hung upon the walls. 
Small chairs and tables can be provided for the younger 
children, maps and blackboards for such teachers as will 
use them, musical instruments and good song books as may 
be necessary to lead in song, and materials for manual 
work, such as sand-tables, clay, crayons, blocks, drawing 
materials, etc. 

k. Records. Finally, the importance of careful account¬ 
ing of personnel and funds will not be overlooked by the 
careful administrator. Careful records of all receipts and 
disbursements must be kept by the treasurer, and his ac¬ 
counts regularly audited. And the secretary must work 
out such a system of records as will account definitely for 
everyone who comes in the school and for every absentee. 
The Methodist Book Concern will gladly provide a full 
system of records at little cost, and the Board of Sunday 
Schools will be pleased to advise all persons interested in 
improving Sunday-school accounting. 


Books Recommended for Further Study 

John E. Stout, Organization and Administration of Religious 
Education. 

W. S. Athearn, The Church School. 

Burton and Mathews, Principles and Ideals for the Sunday 
School. 

H. F. Cope, Efficiency in the Sunday School; Religious Education 
in the Family; The Week-day Church School; School in the Mod¬ 
ern Church; The Modern Sunday School in Principle and Practice. 

E. M. Fergusson, How to Run a Little Sunday School; Church 
School Administration. 

Howard J. Gee, Methods of Church School Administration. 

Hugh Hartshorne, Worship in the Sunday School. 

W. N. Hutchins, Graded Social Service for the Sunday School. 

Marion Lawrance, How to Conduct a Sunday School. 


RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 


171 

Franklin McElfresh, Training of Sunday School Teachers and 
Officers. 

H. H. Meyer, The Graded School in Principle and Practice. 
Margaret Slattery, Talks With the Training Class. 

George H. Betts, The New Program of Religious Education. 
George A. Coe, Education in Religion and Morals; Social Theory 
of Religious Education. 

A. A. Lamoreaux, The Unfolding Life. 

Albert H. Gage, How to Conduct a Church Vacation School. 
Charles W. Brewbaker, Sunday School Management. 

Herbert F. Evans, The Sunday School Building and Its Equip¬ 
ment. 

Dan B. Brummitt, The Efficient Epworthian. 


CHAPTER XVI 


THE ADMINISTRATION OF SERVICE 
The Church Family 

All true worship, evangelism, and religious education 
create the spirit of service. Those charged with adminis¬ 
tering the church as an organization should plan intelli¬ 
gently for the wise expression of this spirit. Generally 
speaking, these activities will be directed toward a three¬ 
fold object: 

The Church Family. 

The Local Community. 

The World Community. 

It will be impossible in practice always to distinguish 
sharply between these several types of service. Each will 
shade imperceptibly into the other. The distinctions, how¬ 
ever, serve a purpose if they help us to clear thinking about 
the whole task of the church. 

i. The Standing Committee on Service probably 
should be larger than the other great committees, for its 
field is so broad that it may be necessary to distribute its 
work among several subcommittees. It should be com¬ 
posed of representatives of all the major organizations in 
the church which seek to minister to human welfare in 
some vital and consistent manner. These usually are the 
official board, the Sunday school, the Ladies* Aid Society, 
the Epworth League, and the local auxiliaries of the 
Women’s Missionary Societies. 

A physician, a deaconess (if one is employed by the 
church), at least one philanthropically disposed person who 
is informed about the principles and methods of modern 
charity, and an educator should be additional members of 
the committee. 


172 


THE CHURCH FAMILY 


173 


The function of the committee is to unify the various 
programs of service which are outlined by the several or¬ 
ganizations within the church so that waste may be avoided, 
on the one hand, and no worthy object be overlooked, on 
the other; to nourish the spirit of service by making it 
intelligent and comprehensive; to assist in providing such 
equipment as may be needed if service is to be efficient; and 
to develop such a system of records as will tell quickly and 
accurately the story of service rendered by the church. 

The division of labor within the committee would nat¬ 
urally be determined by the several objects of service, and 
permanent subcommittees might be appointed on (1) Local 
Church Relief, (2) Community Service, and (3) Missions. 
The work of this standing committee is necessarily related 
intimately to that of every other committee, and joint meet¬ 
ings should be held as frequently as necessary in the interest 
of perfect cooperation. 

2. Service in the Local Church. This service em¬ 
braces every activity that is designed to maintain the local 
organization in good working condition, and to promote 
Christian fellowship among the members of the church as 
distinguished from non-church members in the community. 
This is not its only duty, but certainly the church is under 
an obligation to care for its own in every possible way. 

a. One thinks first of the duty toward dependent mem¬ 
bers of the church. These would include the unemployed, 
the sick, the aged, and all who are infirm for any cause. The 
obligation here requires that provision shall be made for 
their systematic care, and for the comfort that is afforded 
by friendly interest and personal visitation. It is disgrace¬ 
ful for the church to permit one of its members to become a 
charge upon public charity. If the resources of the local 
organization are not adequate to meet the situation, then 
the matter should be laid before the district superintendent 
with a view of securing help from other churches of the 
denomination. Of course the aid given should never pauper¬ 
ize the beneficiary. The social workers on the committee 


174 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


should formulate a plan for the rehabilitation of the suf¬ 
ferer, if that is possible; otherwise for his regular support. 
And whatever is done should be done intelligently and in 
the spirit of Christian love. Quite probably an important 
part of the task will be to control the interest of several 
church organizations so that the object of their regard shall 
not suffer from too much attention at one time and too 
little at another. 

b. The next great opportunity for service to the church 
family is found in the need of all, old and young alike, for 
recreation and amusement. In most of the Christian cen¬ 
turies play has been looked upon by the church “as a more 
or less permissible sin rather than a natural, right, and beau¬ 
tiful expression of the human spirit.” The last thirty 
years, however, have witnessed a change that is very like 
a “renaissance.” Teachers have come to regard play as 
the chief instrument of physical, mental, and moral growth 
for the young. There is larger appreciation too of its value 
for adults in its power to renew the jaded spirit. Indeed, 
the “amusement problem” within the church is only a part 
of the larger problem of community play to which the 
church sustains a definite relation, and of which we shall 
speak later. That problem is positive rather than negative 
in character. It does not mean primarily standing guard 
over young people to see that they refrain from certain 
amusements forbidden by the church. It is, rather, the 
much more difficult task of providing all people in the church 
and community with such opportunities for play as are in¬ 
dispensable to a full, rich life. 

No simple and final answer can be made to the question, 
“What shall be the social and recreational activities of the 
church?” That will depend upon (i) the provision that 
the community as a whole makes for play; (2) the type of 
community in which the church is located; and (3) the 
financial ability of the church. For example, if the com¬ 
munity supports a well-equipped Y. M. C. A. with compe¬ 
tent directors of social work and physical education, it is 


THE CHURCH FAMILY 


175 


not necessary for the church in that place to duplicate this 
equipment. Or where the community supports regular ex¬ 
hibitions of moving pictures, it is not quite clear that the 
church should render a similar service, even for its own 
people. The wiser plan is to cooperate with each agency 
that is doing well some special work, giving it financial and 
moral support in return for the service which it is willing 
to render the church. On the other hand, if the community 
is not providing for the play life of its citizens, and cannot 
be induced to do so, the church, up to the measure of its 
ability, is obligated to engage in this special form of service. 
Again, a church located in an industrial community may 
be expected to supply a special ministry that is not required 
of a church in a rural village or in a suburban town. Or, 
again, it would be folly for a church composed chiefly of 
wage-earners to attempt the achievements of a church of 
wealthier people. 

Certain ideals should control the church in serving the 
need of its own family for wholesome recreation. First, 
it is not often imperative that the equipment be elaborate. 
The organized Sunday-school class, the Boy Scout Troop, 
the Camp Fire Girls’ Patrol and other such organizations 
are well designed to meet the requirements of the “gang 
spirit” of youth without spending large sums of money. 
After a comfortable place for regular meetings has been 
provided, the resourcefulness of active young people will 
usually supply whatever more may be needed. Generally, 
the pastor and his wife will do much better to train others 
to lead such groups than to undertake that work them¬ 
selves. This is especially true in the Methodist Church, 
where the pastor is subject to sudden and frequent re¬ 
movals. Among the simpler forms of amusement within 
the reach of any church the following may be mentioned: 

(1) Athletic teams for boys and girls—baseball, basket¬ 
ball, tennis, etc. 

(2) Social activities of organized classes. 

(3) Camping trips, hikes, outings, etc. 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


176 

(4) Boy Scouts. 

(5) Camp Fire Girls. 

(6) Reading Circles. 

(7) Amateur dramatics, pageants, etc. 

(8) Socials, entertainments, lectures, dinners, etc. 

The second ideal that should be controlling for the church 
in this matter is respect for the educational value of play. 
Certain institutions may be warranted in thinking of amuse¬ 
ment as an end in itself. This cannot be true of the church. 
It recognizes the play instinct as of divine origin, but an 
instinct which makes for growth. Any attempt to satisfy 
this instinct should be intelligently designed to promote 
moral and spiritual development. An illustration of the 
wrong use of play by the church may appear in athletics. 
A baseball team in the Sunday school might seem desirable 
because it would advertise the school. To do this well the 
team must be a “winning team.” To create such a team the 
school authorities are tempted to blink at questionable prac¬ 
tices ; for example, make it worth while for good ball play¬ 
ers to come to Sunday school to play ball rather than to 
receive education in religion and morals. All the trouble 
starts from the wrong use of play. If an athletic team is 
organized in a Sunday school, it should be because such 
an agency is desirable educationally. Baseball easily lends 
itself to religious and moral training if the end be honest, 
sportsmanlike fun rather than to win a game at any cost. 
Otherwise, it may educate in the wrong direction. To se¬ 
lect the team out of the regular members of the Sunday 
school, who come winter and summer; to teach them to 
play the best game possible, but always an honest game; to 
train them to despise evasions, insincerity, ungentlemanli¬ 
ness, and to learn such self-control that they are “good 
losers”—this is to utilize play for educational purposes. 

(3) A third principle is implied by the second. To have 
educational value, all play must be supervised. This does 
not mean that some one must prescribe in detail all that 
young people may do. It does mean that a wise senior shall 


THE CHURCH FAMILY 


177 


be at hand to guide and direct the play activities so that 
only good may come of them. This is of especial concern 
to those who may be planning better equipment for play, 
such as a gymnasium, without thought of employing a com¬ 
petent person to superintend it. Let nothing—not even a 
Sunday-school picnic—be planned in the way of recreation 
unless it is properly supervised. The young of the race 
must play, but they cannot play by themselves without dan¬ 
ger to themselves. 

c. A third specific service which the church must render 
to its own membership is to train them in and for Christian 
work. Obviously, much of this training is accomplished 
through worship and instruction. But these must be sup¬ 
plemented by activities designed to serve a threefold func¬ 
tion, namely, (1) to express and deepen the faith of the 
believer; (2) to make the organized church an effective in¬ 
strument for redeeming life; (3) and to support every 
agency in the community which helps to make the world a 
decent place in which to live. 

Ideally, every member of the church should be responsi¬ 
ble for doing a worthy and specific task that will call forth 
constantly his best efforts. It is a commonplace, however, 
that the work of most churches is done by “a faithful few,” 
and that pastors find it difficult to increase their volunteer 
staff because of the reluctance of church members to enlist 
for active service. By giving the matter careful considera¬ 
tion, nevertheless, some have been able to approximate the 
ideal of “a task for everyone.” They have exalted in pul¬ 
pit and private conversation the dignity of church work. 
They have classified the things that were to be done about 
the church in an Opportunity Book , 1 and asked each mem¬ 
ber to place a check opposite the service in which he was 
most interested. And they have refused to limit Chris¬ 
tian service to “church work.” It includes, they insist, a 
helpful social ministry through community organizations, 

"Send ten cents for the one prepared by the Fourth Presbyterian 
Church, Chicago. 



i 7 8 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


and the application of Christian principles in the daily 
routine of life, as well as doing specific tasks assigned by 
the church. It will never be possible to put everyone at 
work in the narrower sense. Many members are children; 
others are housewives and mothers who do their own work 
and cannot assume responsibilities outside their families; 
still others find that the demands of everyday work inter¬ 
fere with “church work.” But it is quite possible that the 
proportion of active workers is much larger than is gen¬ 
erally supposed if the broader view of Christian service be 
taken into account. The “Unit System” of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church, by which each member of the church is 
assigned to a group called a “Unit” in charge of a “Unit 
leader,” is a device for putting everyone at work. 

In the average church some such list of tasks and needed 
workers as the following may be made: 

(1) Evangelistic 

Mission workers. 

Personal workers. 

Singers in the choir, etc. 

(2) Educational 

Sunday-school teachers and workers. 

Leaders for boys’ and girls’ clubs. 

Officers and committees of organized classes. 

Leaders of mission study classes. 

(3) Church Organizations 

Visitors, canvassers, ushers, etc. 

Officers and committeemen. 

Clerks to assist in keeping records, etc. 

(4) Social 

Friendly visiting for local charity organizations. 

Social settlement workers. 

Leading local corn, pig, potato, and other commu¬ 
nity clubs. 

Representing the church in law-enforcement or¬ 
ganizations. 

Assisting the unemployed, etc. 


THE CHURCH FAMILY 


179 


Conducting farmers’ institutes and fairs. 

Holiday celebrations. 

Hospital supplies. 

Some of these workers may be enlisted by a public appeal 
for volunteers. For the important tasks, however, the prin¬ 
ciple of the “selective draft’’ must be employed if the best 
workers are to be secured. 

In training these workers, the wise pastor will utilize the 
best literature that has been published and, when possible, 
hold local training conferences. Moreover, he will send 
each year as large a group as possible to the nearest sum¬ 
mer institutes conducted by the Board of Sunday Schools, 
the Epworth League, or other church organizations. The 
local church can well afford to pay the expenses, in part, 
or wholly, of all such delegates. 

Books Recommended for Further Study 

E. T. Devine, Misery and Its Causes; Principles of Relief; The 
Practice of Charity. 

R. C. Cabot, What Men Live By, Part II. 

J. V. Thompson, Handbook for Workers with Young People. 

H. F. Cope, Principles of Christian Service. 

Dan B. Brummitt, The Efficient Epworthian. 

Christian F. Reisner, Social Plans for Young People. 

Jessie H. Bancroft, Games for Play Ground, Home, School and 
Gymnasium. 

Luella A. Palmer, Play in the First Eight Years. 

Mary E. Blain, Games For All Occasions. 

Leader’s Manual for Boy Scouts Movement. 

Allan Hoben, The Minister and the Boy. 


CHAPTER XVII 


THE ADMINISTRATION OF SERVICE 
The Local Community 

The church is obligated, however, to render a wider 
service than to its own membership. It belongs to the com¬ 
munity and must participate in all that concerns the com¬ 
munity. 

i. Definitions. It may be well to begin this section with 
a few definitions. 

a. “What is a community?” The authorities are gen¬ 
erally agreed that a community consists of a group of 
people, living in a single locality and having common in¬ 
terests by virtue of that fact. This describes equally well 
several kinds of communities—the home, the school, the 
township, the village, the municipality, the state, and the 
nation. The term will be used here to designate that circle 
of social relationships just outside the family group in 
which are to be found the principal satisfactions and in¬ 
terests not supplied by the home. 1 The geographical radius 
of this circle varies greatly in length. For the villager, the 
community will be identical with his home town. For the 
city dweller, it may mean only a section of the city in which 
he lives—his “neighborhood.” For the countryman it will 
mean, as a rule, “that territory, with its people, which lies 
within the team haul of a given center.” The motor vehicle 
is stretching this radius very rapidly. 2 The community 
always includes those families and persons who have com¬ 
mon social, educational, economic, political, and religious 
needs and is the medium through which these needs are 
met. 

x Warren H Wilson, Evolution of the Country Community, p. 92 . 

*Id,, p. 91* * 

180 



THE LOCAL COMMUNITY 


181 


b. “What is community service?” Obviously, any min¬ 
istry to a community need. It may be rendered by many 
persons and institutions, the physician and the hospital, the 
teacher and the school, the business man and the institu¬ 
tions of commerce and industry, the officials and machinery 
of government, the minister and the church. 

c. “What is a community church?” Let us say that it 
is a church which takes account of every kind of com¬ 
munity need and endeavors to organize its activities in such 
a way as to minister intelligently and systematically to those 
needs. It may, or may not, be the only church supported by 
the community. It may, or may not, have denominational 
affiliations. All or only a part of the community may par¬ 
ticipate in its management. The determinative fact is its 
spirit and breadth of vision. It must be committed to the 
social conception of the Kingdom which insists that the 
Kingdom is outward as well as inward, present as well as 
future, and embraces the life that now is as well as the life 
that is to come. 

There are three types of community churches, each pos¬ 
sessing advantages and disadvantages: 

(1) The Federated Church, in which two or more con¬ 
gregations worship as one while maintaining respectively 
their denominational integrity. 

(2) The Independent Church which has no denomina¬ 
tional affiliations. 

(3) The Denominational Church with a Community 
Program. 

For Methodists this ideal of service as varied as human 
need is a return to Wesleyan ideals. John Wesley was the 
chief of all eighteenth-century evangelists and at the same 
time one of the greatest of social reformers. John Howard 
was not more deeply stirred than he over the filthy jails and 
brutal penal methods of his day. He was among the first 
to agitate for the abolition of slavery, and the very last 
letter that he wrote was addressed to William Wilberforce 
bidding him, “Go on, in the name of God and the power of 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


182 

his might, till even American slavery, the vilest that ever 
saw the sun, shall vanish before it.” In the face of great 
opposition he preached on political themes since politics had 
to do with such matters as war, slavery, the regulation of 
industry, education, disease, and crime. He established loan 
funds and dispensaries in connection with his chapels, and 
converted the society room at “the Foundry” into a place 
for carding and spinning cotton. In 1743 he made a “social 
survey” of London, mapping the city out into twenty-three 
districts and assigning two volunteer workers to each to 
care for the poor of his societies. He ministered no less 
enthusiastically to the intellectual than the spiritual needs 
of his people, establishing schools and editing cheap editions 
of good literature for them. 

The utter futility of attempting to redeem the individual 
without evangelizing the social conditions in which he lives 
is vividly illustrated in the story of Six Thousand Country 
Churches in Ohio, by Gill and Pinchot. This is largely a 
story of eighteen counties in southeastern Ohio where 
churches are more plentiful in proportion to the population 
than in any other part of the State and also where illegit¬ 
imacy, illiteracy, tuberculosis, venereal disease, corrupt 
politics, and superstition are most in evidence. The reason 
is not to be found in bad economic conditions, for poor soil 
itself cannot deprave a whole population. It is due to the 
prevalence of a type of religion which exhausts itself in 
excessive emotionalism without relating itself to matters of 
conduct. “For the most part the farm people of these eigh¬ 
teen counties are very religious. This is attested not merely 
by the large number of churches but also by the frequency 
of well-attended revival services, held in spring, summer, 
autumn, and winter. (In Pike County, for example, no less 
than fifteen hundred revival services were held in thirty 
years, or an average of fifty each year.) Yet a normal, 
wholesome religion, bearing as its fruit better living and all¬ 
round human development, and cherished and propagated 
by sane and sober-minded people, is rarely known. . . , 


THE LOCAL COMMUNITY 


183 

Officials of denominations to which more than two thirds 
of the churches belong encourage or permit the promotion 
of a religion of the excessively emotional type, which en¬ 
courages rolling upon the floor by men, women, and chil¬ 
dren, and going into trances, while some things which have 
happened in the regular services of a church in one of the 
largest denominations cannot properly be described in 
print.” 3 

2. Community Interests. In approaching community 
problems it will be noticed that all of them “hang together.” 
Pick up the problem of industry, for example, and the prob¬ 
lems of sickness, dependency, delinquency, education, and 
politics come up with it. For purposes of thought, how¬ 
ever, we may make a logical separation of these interests 
and consider the more important of them as though they 
were unrelated. It scarcely needs to be said that within 
the limits imposed upon us, it is impossible to do more than 
suggest these problems in outline and hint at the contribu¬ 
tion which the church can make, as a rule, to their solution. 

a. Religion. In the light of what was said concerning 
worship, it must be clear that the most important collective 
interest which any community has is religion. Current criti¬ 
cism of religion from the standpoint of the community 
makes two serious charges. First, the type of religion that 
is generally taught is too subjective to establish any but the 
slightest relations with the present world. Second, many 
believe that the divisions and strife within the church itself 
render it incapable of bringing to mankind the boon of salva¬ 
tion. There are high-souled idealists outside the church 
who, far from expecting any help from the church, regard 
it as a part of “the social problem,” and have set for them¬ 
selves the task of Christianizing the church! This criticism 
is not always careful to appreciate the wholesome influence 
which the church is now exercising in society, but there is 
a good deal in it nevertheless. 


8 Reprinted by permission of The Macmillan Company, from Si% 
Thousand Country Churches, p. 21, by Gi'U and Pinchot. 




184 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


The question of religion as a community affair requires, 
then, that the church shall teach a type of religion that is 
socially valuable, relating itself helpfully to the whole of 
life. This does not mean merely that the church shall 
render “social service,” binding up the wounds of those who 
are hurt in the on-going of the social order. It means, 
rather, that the church shall make an ethical appraisal of 
the order itself, inquiring if the reason so many are hurt 
may not be due in large part to the prevalence of non- 
Christian methods and motives in the order as a whole. 
This is primarily an educational task, and the agencies by 
which it is to be accomplished are the pulpit and the class¬ 
room. 

In the next place, it will be necessary for churchmen to 
practice this gospel as well as teach it. An important factor 
in the present social confusion is that some of the staunch¬ 
est defenders of prevailing methods in business, finance, and 
diplomacy which work hardship on many, are conspicuous 
laymen and ministers in the church. No individual can be 
held accountable for things being as they are. We are all 
caught in a scheme of things which no one person can 
change, and many are compelled against their will to “play 
the game according to the accepted rules.” But there is no 
need that Christian men shall defend these rules as ideal. 
They can admit their pagan character and work earnestly 
for a change. 

Furthermore, the church must become social toward its 
several parts and be filled with the spirit of cooperation 
toward all other community institutions. It must learn to 
think of itself, not as an end, but as a means (and not the 
only means) of Christianizing society. It must lose the 
self-consciousness which has exalted denominational in¬ 
terests above the kingdom of God, and be willing to dis¬ 
appear from a given community if that will unify the re¬ 
ligious forces and promote the cause of religion. For it is 
quite conceivable that in some communities there would be 
more religion if there were fewer churches. Moreover, it 


THE LOCAL COMMUNITY 


185 

must regard any agency which contributes to human wel¬ 
fare as its natural ally, not an enemy. The redemption of 
life is a task so formidable that we should welcome all 
possible assistance from the lodge, the school, the grange, 
the business club, and give our best to them in return. That 
may mean that the church assist in keeping them true to 
their highest ideals. 

b. Recreation. The amusement situation in America 
is characterized by three unfortunate features— profession¬ 
alism, commercialism, and immorality . 4 Professionalism is 
the result of the American habit of taking recreation by 
watching others play. Witness the vicarious play of 20,000,- 
000 people at the motion-picture theaters every day, of 
probably 50,000,000 baseball “fans” congregated about the 
bulletin boards and newspapers when diamonds are in¬ 
accessible during the baseball season, of as many as 70,000 
persons crowded into a single stadium watching the strug¬ 
gles of twenty-two men in the center. Is this the best that 
a great civilization can do in providing recreation for the 
multitude—employ professional entertainers to play for 
them? Is there no way to get the people to stretch their 
own muscles and exert themselves? 

Commercialism follows directly upon professionalism in 
play. The community depends for its amusement upon the 
promoter who, however valuable his services may be, ex¬ 
ploits the normal instincts for play in the interest of com¬ 
mercial profits. Mr. R. H. Edwards observes: “In no 
phase of our whole great modern struggle against excessive 
profits for the few and in favor of human values for the 
many is the battle any keener than in this ‘superficial’ ques¬ 
tion of popular amusement. As the congestion of city life 
thickens and the daily struggle for a living wage grows 
sharper, the human need for release through real recreation 
becomes sharper also. ... If spontaneous, wholesome, and 
well-ordered play is a profoundly educative and moralizing 
force, then the substitution of cold, profit-seeking amuse- 


4 R. H. Edwards, Christianity and Amusements, p. 12, 



THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


186 

ments, artificial and often nasty, can but exercise a cor¬ 
respondingly profound effect for demoralization.” 5 

And out of these two comes the third, immorality. Who 
is not familiar with the struggle in every community to 
keep the theaters free from indecent suggestiveness; sports 
free from gambling; and the dance halls and public parks 
free from vice? Professor RauschenbusclTs generalization 
is not too sweeping—that pleasure resorts run for profit are 
always edging along toward the forbidden. 

The particular responsibility of the church in connection 
with this matter would seem to be, first of all, the creation 
of an intelligent body of public opinion on the subject of 
play, developing in the community a sense of collective obli¬ 
gation to provide adequate facilities for recreation for young 
and old. This is another part of its educational task to be 
accomplished through the pulpit and the class. Besides this 
educational work, the church may insist upon the strict 
supervision by the community through proper officials of 
all public amusement places. Unsupervised parks, play¬ 
grounds, gardens, theaters, dance halls, are a menace to the 
moral health. 

In the event that no other institution in the community 
has a major responsibility in the matter, the church should 
make of itself the center of social and recreational ac¬ 
tivities. The church in the country or the small village 
often has an exceptional opportunity to do this. The play 
life of the community is thus brought under the direct con¬ 
trol of the church and no one will be to blame but the 
church itself if the social atmosphere is uncongenial to spirit¬ 
uality. To make itself thus the center of social life will 
require a considerable expenditure of money for buildings, 
equipment, and additional workers. For the pastor cannot 
become the director of boys’ and girls’ clubs and at the same 
time do all that he should do as preacher and shepherd. 
And however many salaried workers may be employed, 

6 Christianity and Amusements, p. 17. Reprinted by peripission of 
Association Press, 



THE LOCAL COMMUNITY 


187 


they must have tools to work with. It is advisable, then, 
for the church to make sure that some other institution 
cannot do this work more effectively and economically be¬ 
fore entering upon such a program of service. In that 
event, as indicated above, the obligation of the church would 
be to cooperate with such an institution rather than enter 
into competition with it, supplying it with financial resources 
and leadership, and keeping its ideals of service true. 

c. Industry. Concern for its own interest, if no higher 
motive, would impel the church to relate itself to the prob¬ 
lems of workaday life in the community which it serves. If 
the present industrial order is giving us a depleted manhood 
and womanhood, that means a depleted church. For “the 
church cannot thrive where society decays.” And if the 
church is indifferent to these which are the paramount in¬ 
terests to a majority of the people, the alienation of great 
industrial groups is inevitable. As a matter of fact, this 
alienation is already an accomplished fact in many industrial 
and agricultural communities. 

The chief contribution expected from the church in the 
solution of economic problems is not mere remedial ac¬ 
tivity, such as the maintenance of relief agencies which will 
make tolerable the misery of those who feel acutely the 
pressure of these problems. It is more important that the 
church should deal directly with the great causes of this 
misery and exalt a new set of ideals which, if permitted to 
control, would Christianize industry. Its work will be 
largely educational. The aim must be, not to change in¬ 
dustrial and social forms, but to put a new spirit into what¬ 
ever industrial organization is approved by society. 

(1) In her teaching the church will interpret certain 
great ethical ideals exalted by Jesus. The first of them is 
respect for personality. Jesus put human welfare above 
every other consideration. Men were of more value to him 
than things, such as grass, birds, lilies, oxen, and sheep. 
The religious institutions of his day were made for them— 
the law, the temple, the Sabbath. Children were precious, 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


188 

for of such is the kingdom of heaven. Womanhood was 
reverenced even though it had been ravaged by man’s lust. 
Human life was regarded so highly that he made it his one 
business to nurse it back to strength after it had been en¬ 
feebled by sin, disease, superstition, and ignorance. A thor¬ 
oughgoing application of this principle of respect for per¬ 
sonality would correct every social wrong against which 
the workers of the world protest. 

(2) A second principle that must be emphasized by the 
church as essential to an ideal economic order is cooperation. 
Competition and coercion stand thoroughly discredited as 
instruments of social advance. The champions of the doc¬ 
trine of the “survival of the fittest” never were able to de¬ 
fend it from the standpoint of Christian ethics. Jesus’ gos¬ 
pel of love is utterly at variance with any philosophy of 
force. The doctrine was justified scientifically by reliance 
upon a misinterpretation of Darwin’s theory of the devel¬ 
opment of life. The great Englishman himself pointed out 
that there were two factors which explained the survival 
of life in its various forms —struggle and mutual aid. 
Popular thought seized upon the first and magnified it 
until the second was lost to view. Before his death it be¬ 
came clear to Darwin that his message would be hopelessly 
misrepresented. “I am beginning to despair of ever making 
the majority understand my notions. ... I must be a 
very bad explainer,” he said. 

Obviously, the effort of “social Darwinians” to justify 
the principle of competition in trade and politics was wholly 
misguided. Commerce and industry are saving themselves 
in our day only by turning away from this principle to that 
of cooperation. Employers do not regard each other any 
longer as enemies to be devoured, but as friends to be 
helped. Hence, the development of the trust, and employ¬ 
ers’ associations. Laborers, likewise, refuse longer to eat 
each other up in bloody competition, and now associate 
themselves together in mutual helpfulness in trade and in¬ 
dustrial unions. Industrial peace waits only upon the fur- 


THE LOCAL COMMUNITY 


189 


ther application of this principle. Competition now is be¬ 
tween classes rather than individuals. Producers combine 
together against middlemen, and middlemen against pro¬ 
ducers. Laborers unite against employers, and employers 
against laborers. And both groups are capable of working 
together in exploiting the consumer. The Christian ideal 
requires that all groups having to do with the production 
and distribution of wealth shall learn how to work together, 
not in the interest of one or two parties, but in kindly help¬ 
fulness to all people. 

(3) Another ideal upon which the church must insist is 
that the Christian motive of service shall be substituted 
for the pagan motive of self-interest. To the uncontrolled 
desire for gain can be traced all the chicane and iniquity 
of modern trade. It tempts the merchant to take advantage 
of the ignorance of the purchaser. It prompts the pro¬ 
ducer at times to curtail production and at other times to 
surpass the economic needs of society. It impels the 
“middleman,” the distributor, to gamble in the necessaries 
of life, and even to destroy vast quantities of food and goods 
for personal gain. It sends a bargain-hunting public racing 
after shoddy goods that have been produced by “sweating” 
their fellow man under intolerable conditions. It drives 
“big business” to do some very small things—secure monop¬ 
olies that are protected by law, make industrial accidents a 
charge upon the community, especially upon the family of 
the unfortunate worker; pay wages so meager that work¬ 
ers have to get free board and lodgings at home or supple¬ 
ment their earnings by sin. And it has sometimes caused 
an organized group of laborers to violate contracts for no 
other reason than they had the power to do so. 

If the practicability of service as a motive in industry be 
called in question, let the fact be remembered that long since 
all the great professions have passed under its control. 
Evidence of the predatory spirit in the minister, the teacher, 
the physician, and the lawyer is punished swiftly by a loss 
of caste among his professional peers. Any legitimate form 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


190 

of business is a service to society, and can justify itself only 
on this ground. By what right, then, does business ask ex¬ 
emptions from the control of an unselfish motive while the 
professions gladly acknowledge the obligations of service? 
Business must “professionalize” itself! 

The church may employ several methods in performing 
this work of education. The pastor should often call at¬ 
tention to these great principles from the pulpit. It is 
understood, of course, that he will not speak until lie has 
informed himself fully concerning them, and that he will 
not lose his sense of proportion so that he comes to have 
nothing but a “social message.” Besides this, it may be 
possible to organize study groups in connection with the 
Sunday school or the midweek service for the consideration 
of social and industrial themes. Some pastors conduct 
“forums” for the candid discussion by competent persons 
of any matter vital to the welfare of the community. These 
discussions are held frequently on Sunday afternoon or on 
a week night. Often they are substituted for the Sunday¬ 
evening service of worship. Their value lies in the fact 
that an opportunity is given for questions from the floor 
and everyone has a chance to express himself who cares 
to do so. 

Individual churches may find it possible to supplement 
this educational work with activities designed to advance 
the economic interests of the community. For example, 
many rural churches promote “pig” and “corn clubs” among 
the boys and girls, and cooperate with agricultural colleges 
in conducting fairs and institutes which bring the whole 
countryside together. Many city churches organize vacant- 
lot garden clubs and establish industrial departments which 
give employment to large numbers of persons. The “Good 
Will Industries,” which are fostered by the Board of Home 
Missions of the Methodist Episcopal Church in a number 
of cities, are illustrations in point. 

d. Poverty. Every community, rural and urban alike, 
must reckon with the fact of poverty in larger or smaller 


THE LOCAL COMMUNITY 


191 

degree, for there are always some who do not have suf¬ 
ficient income to maintain themselves in health and physical 
efficiency. Before the World War the average wage-earner 
and his family in America lived constantly on the brink of 
poverty. A prolonged illness or a considerable period of un¬ 
employment brought them face to face with actual want. 
And in spite of the higher wages received by all classes of 
workers at the present time, it is a question whether they 
are relatively better off, for the increase in wages has hardly 
been proportionate to the increased cost of goods. If the 
average wage-earner is living all the time on the poverty 
line, there are many who live constantly below that line. 
Not all of them are paupers, that is, dependent upon public 
or private charity, but all of them are underfed, insuf¬ 
ficiently clad, and badly housed. For them a period of sick¬ 
ness or unemployment means such a degree of want that 
they are pushed over the line into pauperism. In 1904 Rob¬ 
ert Hunter estimated that there were not far from 10,000,- 
000 persons living in poverty in the United States. At the 
time many regarded this as an exaggerated statement. 
Later researches, however, have confirmed rather than dis¬ 
credited it. Ward declared in 1915 that 4,000,000 persons 
in the United States were living in destitution. 

Until a recent period poverty was generally regarded as 
a regrettable, but unavoidable fact. Modern leaders in 
social reform, however, are convinced that it is both curable 
and preventable. A fresh study of the prophets and the 
teachings of Jesus has discovered that in both the Old and 
New Testaments the biblical ideal is, rather, to remove the 
causes of poverty than mitigate the evil by mere almsgiving. 
The church cannot but indorse this new view, which turns 
out to have been an old one, and cooperate enthusiastically 
with all agencies which address themselves to the prevention 
as well as the relief of misery. 

As in the case of the economic problem, so here, the prin¬ 
cipal service which the church can render is educational. It 
may see to it that the community is informed concerning the 


192 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


great causes of poverty. These are, in part, personal. Men¬ 
tal and physical defects, shiftlessness, intemperance, gam¬ 
bling, delinquency, and crime are responsible for much 
misery among workers. In other part these causes are 
social and of such a nature that the worker has no power 
over them. Sickness is most frequently the immediate oc¬ 
casion for charity, and often is the direct result of the 
nature of the work in which the toiler engages. Unemploy¬ 
ment figures as the next most common cause of poverty. 
Forty per cent of all wage earners suffer some unemploy¬ 
ment every year and the loss in wages is from twenty to 
thirty per cent of the total amount of what their earnings 
would be if they were employed constantly. The relation 
between a small uncertain income and poverty is unmis¬ 
takably clear. 

Furthermore, the church must regard it as her particular 
task to develop in the community a sense of collective re¬ 
sponsibility for the welfare of the poor and to generate the 
moral power necessary to the relief and prevention of pov¬ 
erty. A message that is calculated to make employers so¬ 
cially minded and to secure a fairer distribution of the prod¬ 
uct of labor will contribute directly to this end. It is the 
particular privilege of the church to create an atmosphere 
in which social workers shall find their faith strengthened 
and to build up a body of public opinion which will provide 
adequately for the work of charitable organizations sup¬ 
ported by the community. 

In addition to this educational service designed to remove 
ultimately the causes of poverty, the church must concern 
itself actively with remedial measures. Nothing that the 
churches can do in this connection will be more important 
than such a ministry to the spiritual life as will transform 
the shiftless, the intemperate, the impure man into a new 
creature in Christ Jesus. The regeneration and sanctifica¬ 
tion of the individual life will go far to remove the purely 
personal causes of poverty. 

Besides this, however, most churches will find it necessary 


THE LOCAL COMMUNITY 


193 


to minister material relief to distressed families. All serv¬ 
ice of this kind should be controlled by the principles of 
charitable relief now universally approved by the most 
successful social workers. First, all such help should be 
given intelligently and systematically. Injudicious and im¬ 
pulsive almsgiving is little less than criminal. The initial 
step in all relief work should be investigation of each case. 
Second, on the basis of facts uncovered by the investigator, 
a plan of aid should be worked out which will help the 
applicant to help himself. Third, reconstruction is essen¬ 
tially a spiritual process. By friendly visiting and personal 
interest the discouraged person or family must be brought 
into a spirit of faith and hopefulness. The power to carry 
cheer and win the confidence of the poor is more essential 
to a social worker than money. 

The relief work of the church will be directed toward 
two classes of poor: those who are, and those who are not, 
members of the church. To the former, the church is under 
a special obligation to provide all that is necessary for their 
care, as has been pointed out previously. In the case of 
the latter, the obligation of the church is shared by the 
whole community, and the church should cooperate with 
other organizations in caring for them. 

The word “cooperate” should be emphasized heavily in 
community relief. It is very common to find charitably 
disposed persons and organizations contributing to de¬ 
pendency by helping, independently of each other, the same 
families without knowledge of what other agencies are 
doing. This is especially likely to happen in a large com¬ 
munity at festival seasons of the year. The moral effect of 
such haphazard charity upon the poor is worse than the 
poverty which it is supposed to relieve. Vagrancy becomes 
more profitable than labor, and many drift into beggary 
as a profession. All this implies that the pastor shall dis¬ 
cover what relief agencies are at work in the community and 
establish working relations with them; and that he shall 
discourage well-intentioned but wholly inefficient methods 


*94 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


of relief by the church itself, such as ostentatious distribu¬ 
tions to the poor at Christmas and Thanksgiving. 

The standing committee on service should supervise all 
the relief work of the church and should be the medium by 
which the church cooperates with every other agency, 
private and public, in meeting its total community obliga¬ 
tions. 

e. Vice and Delinquency. As no community is free from 
poverty, so there is none, however small or remote from 
populous centers, that is free from vice. In the larger towns 
and cities it may be strong enough to defy the law. In 
villages and the open country it may be clandestine and give 
little sign of its presence. But wherever human beings as¬ 
sociate together in large or small numbers immorality al¬ 
ways appears. Every community has its wild boy, and its 
vicious man; its incorrigible girl and its immoral woman; 
and some have thousands of them. 

Every important study of this subject in recent years has 
reached the conclusions that the great causes of vice are 
social rather than personal, that wayward boys and girls 
are the victims more than they are the enemies of the com¬ 
munity. Behind their delinquency appear poverty, lack 
of parental care, confused family situations, degenerate 
parentage, ignorance, neglect by the school and the church, 
and neglect by the community which has failed conspicu¬ 
ously to provide wholesome recreation, supervision, and 
instruction, and which has handed over its youth, question¬ 
ing, adventurous, emotional, to commercial interests hostile 
to youth. 

The solution of this problem involves at least three things: 
( i ) suppression of the evil, (2) the reconstruction, physi¬ 
cal and moral, of its victims, and (3) the restriction of sup¬ 
ply of fresh victims. This division of labor is very clear 
to thought, but in actual practice one type of work shades 
imperceptibly into another. In abating these evils there is 
need of the fullest cooperation of all persons who have 
responsibilities therewith. Such persons are parents, teach- 


THE LOCAL COMMUNITY 


195 

ers, ministers, social workers, physicians, the press, and 
municipal officials. 

The work of suppressing vice when it has become fla¬ 
grant falls properly to the administrative and court officials 
of the community, who are under oath to enforce the law. 
The militant type of minister is sometimes tempted to be¬ 
come an unofficial policeman with a view of making himself 
a terror to evildoers. This temptation is especially strong 
if he is morally certain that there is an alliance between the 
police officials and the underworld. Occasionally a minister 
has rendered a real service by this kind of work. As a 
rule, however, such experiments have accomplished little 
except to furnish the community with a brief sensation in 
watching the fevered antics of a “fighting parson.” Often 
it ends disastrously for the minister who, inexperienced 
in the ways of corruption, becomes involved in embarrassing 
situations created for him by the forces opposed to him. 
It is equally unwise for the ministers of a community to 
denounce officers on hearsay evidence for failure to enforce 
the laws. 

The best contribution which the minister can make toward 
the suppression of vice is to become acquainted with re¬ 
sponsible officials and go to them privately whenever he 
feels that there is reason to believe that the law is not 
being enforced, stating his grievance and citing the reason 
therefor. This will not give a congregation any oratorical 
thrills, but generally it will make a favorable impression 
upon the officer. If it should be necessary, go again, this 
time with a group of influential citizens, encouraging him 
to do his duty and assuring him of the support of the best 
elements in the community if he will enforce the law. If 
he does a good thing that calls for courage, speak of that 
in the public congregation. But criticism is not justified 
unless it is absolutely certain that the law is being openly 
violated and that the proper officials will not do what the 
majority of people want them to do. If they do not en¬ 
force the law, it is because they believe the community does 


196 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


not care to have its laws enforced. Create a body of public 
opinion, however, demanding law enforcement, and they 
will have great regard for their oath of office. If it should 
seem necessary for the minister as a private citizen to pro¬ 
ceed against the vicious elements, let him organize around 
himself a group of other citizens and let the action of the 
whole group be guided by their best collective wisdom. 

The duty of the minister in the matter of reconstructing 
lives that have been broken by vice is fairly clear. The 
futility of the ordinary raid on places of evil repute is that 
it does not put out, but only scatters the fire throughout the 
community. Sound social policy demands that the victims 
and purveyors of vice shall be seized, not for punishment 
but for treatment. What purpose is served by arresting a 
prostitute, assessing a heavy fine upon her, and then dis¬ 
charging her to prey once more upon the community, scat¬ 
tering loathsome physical and moral contamination wher¬ 
ever she goes? Again, what purpose is served in seizing 
immoral women while the men, who make them what they 
are, move among their fellows with perfect liberty? Ob¬ 
viously, every person, man or woman, who has contracted a 
venereal disease, innocently or sinfully, is so great a menace 
to the community that he should be held for medical treat¬ 
ment. Physicians should be required by law to report every 
such case, and the community should provide hospitals and 
other institutions where regeneration of body and soul may 
be accomplished. 

The minister can render an indispensable service in this 
connection by creating an intelligent public opinion con¬ 
cerning this matter, and helping remove the popular igno¬ 
rance and prejudice which now obstructs enlightened action. 
In an American city of more than a quarter million of peo¬ 
ple, an appropriation was long since made for the construc¬ 
tion of a hospital for venereal disease but it is impossible 
to proceed further because no section of this city wants 
such an institution in its midst. 

The same method should be followed in dealing with 


THE LOCAL COMMUNITY 


197 


juvenile delinquency. To arrest repeatedly wayward boys 
and girls only to punish them in ways that will confirm them 
in their delinquency, is the greatest social folly. They 
should be put under instruction and in an environment that 
is designed to redeem them from their sin. If the com¬ 
munity does not provide such institutions, the church must 
awaken it to a sense of its obligation. 

The restriction of the supply of victims depends more 
largely upon educational than repressive means employed 
by police officers. Dr. Prince A. Morrow, in his treatise on 
Social Diseases and Marriage, speaks very positively con¬ 
cerning this matter: “The true remedy, the most effective 
remedy available to modify or lessen the appalling evils, 
moral and physical, which flow from venereal diseases is 
the general dissemination of knowledge respecting the 
dangers and modes of contagion of these diseases. It is by 
the persuasive force of enlightenment, by combating the 
dense ignorance which prevails among the laity, especially 
among the young, upon whom the incidence of these dis¬ 
eases most heavily falls, that these evils can be diminished.” 
The United States government instituted a great propa¬ 
ganda during the Great War to inform soldiers and civilians 
of the dangers of sexual immorality, and in cooperation 
with State Boards of Health through their Educational De¬ 
partments continues its fight on vice by instruction con¬ 
cerning vice. 

The church can throw itself into this educational work 
with the greatest enthusiasm, for no program of religious 
education can be called complete which overlooks sex hy¬ 
giene. It may cooperate with physicians and government 
officials in spreading a wholesome knowledge of sex-life 
and of the train of evil consequences that follows the irregu¬ 
lar indulgence of sexual appetites. But its distinctive appeal 
will be to moral and spiritual motives. It will be less ap¬ 
palled by what vice does to the body than to the soul of a 
man. It will remind the youth of the community that the 
body is the temple of God, and this temple must not be de- 


198 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


filed. It will urge the control of a single standard of morals 
for both sexes. It will appeal to men and women to keep 
themselves pure against the day of marriage that the next 
generation may not be handicapped by an evil inheritance, 
physical or moral. And it will urge the spiritual dynamic 
that religion affords for personal discipline and self-con¬ 
trol in the moment of temptation. The methods to be em¬ 
ployed in promoting this instruction should be carefully 
determined by conference with the wisest physicians, social 
workers, teachers, and parents in the community. 

f. Politics. It is one of the principles of democratic gov¬ 
ernment in America that state and church shall be inde¬ 
pendent each of the other. Some have inferred from this 
that the church must have nothing to do with politics. No 
such inference is warranted. Separate though they are, the 
functions of the church and the government are identical 
within broad limits, and while each must respect the inde¬ 
pendence and importance of the other, there should be the 
fullest cooperation between them in realizing their com¬ 
mon aims. Moreover, the church is composed of citizens 
of the commonwealth who must give political expression to 
their moral and religious ideals. Their prayers are not to be 
canceled but, rather, answered by their votes. The church 
that is in “political exile” is already smitten by death. 

The nature of the political service to be rendered gener¬ 
ally by the church is determined by the demand of a demo¬ 
cratic government for a favorable public opinion. This 
demand is as great as that of the lungs for air. Neither a 
“bad” nor a “good” government long can function in the 
absence of popular support. The church is one of the great 
agencies for creating public opinion. Its independence of 
state control makes it possible to criticize as well as support 
the administration. Whether it shall censure or approve 
will depend upon the regard which the administration has 
for policies that are admittedly ethical. It will insist that 
the state is under the control of morality, and the very es¬ 
sence of Christian morality is to serve the highest welfare 


THE LOCAL COMMUNITY 


199 


of the many rather than the selfish interests of the few. 
The church, speaking unitedly, can thus make it “politically 
safe for a man occupying a high public position to perform 
his duties fearlessly” and also “politically unsafe for any 
public official to be false to his trust.” 

But mere criticism of a bad administration is not suf¬ 
ficient to secure good government. We sweep our political 
house clean to little purpose unless care is taken to obtain 
proper tenants thereafter. These tenants, that is, office¬ 
holders, are selected primarily by small political groups and 
ultimately by the ballots of voting citizens, and good gov¬ 
ernment waits upon the wise use of these agencies by good 
citizens. Because the membership of the church represents 
every political view, the church cannot indorse partisan 
programs. More fundamental to good government than 
party platforms is the ethical obligation of its members ir¬ 
respective of party affiliations to see to it that good men 
are nominated for office on every ticket. When a great 
moral issue is involved it may be necessary for the churches 
to form a special organization through which they can 
function. The Anti-Saloon League is a conspicuous ex¬ 
ample of the church acting politically. The method em¬ 
ployed generally by this organization was to secure the 
nomination of the best citizens by all parties rather than 
enter the field as a “third” party. The conspicuous success 
of this method in securing constitutional prohibition should 
commend its use in other great reforms. 

It is the business of the church to make good citizens, 
and every program of religious education should provide 
for training in civic matters. That excellent little book, 
The Church School of Citizenship , by Professor Allan Ho- 
ben, is rich in suggestion as to ways in which this training 
can be given through church agencies to children, adolescent 
youths, and adults, in rural as well as urban communities. 
The approach, of course, will be from the ethical and re¬ 
ligious points of view. 

g. Education. According to an old definition, the essen- 


200 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


tial meaning of education is “to draw out” the undeveloped 
capacities of the young. Ideally it has to do with the total 
personality—the physical, the mental, the volitional, and the 
emotional powers. In every American community the edu¬ 
cational task is divided irrationally between the state and 
the church, the former being restricted to the physical and 
cultural aspects of the task, the latter to the moral and re¬ 
ligious phases. The state may teach the child to think, the 
church is supposed to teach him to trust. The state may 
make him strong and alert, and the church is to make him 
good. It is not strange that some young Americans feel 
that religion has nothing to do with knowledge and power. 

This division of labor, regrettable as it is, at least leaves 
us in no doubt about the contribution which is expected 
from the church to this community interest. It must give 
itself most enthusiastically to that part of the educational 
task which the state leaves untouched. 

But it is under an obligation also to cooperate with every 
other educational force in the community. One thing that 
can be done is to make such an interpretation of religion 
as will not deny the science that is taught in the schools. 
Another would be to offer courses in biblical subjects which 
conform to the public-school standards, so that credit may 
be given for this work by the public schools, after the so- 
called “North Dakota” and “Colorado” plans. Yet another 
would be to cooperate with other churches in establishing 
“Community Night Schools of Religious Education” and 
“Vacation Bible Schools.” Such schools can be started by 
two churches as well as by a dozen. In a community where 
educational ideals are low and public school equipment is 
inferior, the church can develop a public opinion that will 
support the demand for better things. One country pastor 
in Illinois agitated for four years for a township high 
school and at length got it. 

h. Health. Good health is yet another great community 
interest. Once more the chief contribution wfhich the 
average church can make to this matter is educational. 


THE LOCAL COMMUNITY 


201 


Physicians are teaching people how to keep themselves 
strong, and the church can cooperate with this teaching 
program by securing competent persons to address special 
groups and classes on the subject of personal and com¬ 
munity hygiene. Moreover, it can support by its gifts local 
hospitals and dispensaries for the care of the stricken. In 
exceptional instances it may be that the church itself may 
establish a hospital department. 

Finally, it will be in order for the church to emphasize 
the curative value of a genuine religious faith, as has been 
suggested in the first chapter of this book. 

Books Recommended for Further Study 

SOCIAL INTERPRETATION OF RELIGION 

Walter Rauschenbusch, Christianity and the Social Crisis; Chris¬ 
tianizing the Social Order; A Theology for the Social Gospel. 

Charles Ellwood, The Social Problem; Reconstruction in Religion. 

Committee Report, Federal Council of Churches, The Church 
and Industrial Reconstruction. 

E. A. Ross, Sin and Society. 

W. N. Clarke, The Ideal of Jesus. 

R. H. Tawney, An Acquisitive Society. 

H. F. Ward, Social Evangelism; The Social Creed of the 
Churches. 

H. S. Coffin, In a Day of Social Rebuilding. 

RECREATION 

R. H. Edwards, Christianity and Amusements. 

H. S. Curtis, Education Through Play; Play and Education. 

Rural and Small Community Recreation, by “Community Serv¬ 
ice,” I Madison Avenue, New York. 

Joseph Lee, Play in Education. 

N. E. Richardson, The Church at Play. 

Warren T. Powell, Recreational Leadership for Church and 
Community. 

LaPorte, A Handbook of Games and Programs for Church 
School and Home. 

Jane Addams, The Spirit of Youth and the City Streets. 

INDUSTRY 

J. A. Hobson, Incentives in the New Industrial Order. 

Walter Rauschenbusch, Christianizing the Social Order. 


202 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


Committee Report, Federal Council of Churches, Church and 
Industrial Reconstruction. 

Harry F. Ward, The New Social Order: Principles and Pro¬ 
grams. 

POVERTY 

E. T. Devine, Misery and Its Causes; Principles of Relief; Prac¬ 
tice of Charity. 

H. F. Ward, Poverty and Wealth. 

Robert Hunter, Poverty. 

John Spargo, The Bitter Cry of the Children. 

THE CHURCH AND THE COMMUNITY 

P. M. Strayer, Reconstruction of the Church. 

W. M. Tippy, The Church a Community Force. 

R. B. Guild, Community Programs for Cooperating Churches. 

R. E. Diffendorfer, The Church and the Community. 

Walter Burr, Rural Organisation. 

J. M. Barker, The Social Gospel and the New Era. 

E. L. Earp, The Rural Church Serving the Community; Rural 
Social Organisation. 

Warren H. Wilson, The Church at the Center. 

Richard Morse, Fear God in Your Own Village. 

L. H. Bailey, Country Life Movement in the United States. 

E. deS. Brunner, Country Church in the New World Order. 

K. L. Butterfield, Country Church and the Rural Problem. 

T. N. Carver, Principles of Rural Economics. 

P. L. Vogt, Introduction to Rural Sociology; Church Cooperation 
in Community Life. 

Fred B. Fisher, The Way to Win, Chapter III. 

A. F. McGarrah, Practical Inter-Church Methods. 


CHAPTER XVIII 


THE ADMINISTRATION OF SERVICE 
The World Community 

The service of the church may never stop at the geo¬ 
graphical boundaries of its immediate neighborhood. Its 
sympathy and helpfulness must go out to all men every¬ 
where. This is required by the great Head of the church 
who himself came to redeem a world community. “God 
so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son.” 
Practical expediency, however, would impel the church to 
become missionary even if there were no specific direction 
from its Master. Saint Paul likened the church to an or¬ 
ganism, the human body, and declared that when any part 
suffered, the whole body suffered with it. This figure is 
quite as applicable to society as to the church. The Great 
War through which we have just passed emphasized afresh 
the fact of social solidarity. Modern inventions, such as the 
steamboat, the telegraph, the submarine cable, the tele¬ 
phone, the aeroplane, make it impossible for any social 
group to live in isolation. Whatever happens anywhere is 
of immediate consequence everywhere. Opportunities for 
friction and misunderstanding have been multiplied a thou¬ 
sandfold. It is inconceivable that society can hold together 
if the old selfishness continues to dominate the life of the 
world. Further advance in civilization waits upon the 
creation of a larger body of good will than now obtains. 
And the church itself, which is a part of society, will be in¬ 
volved in the general catastrophe that must certainly follow 
a refusal to bring the world community under the control 
of Christian ideals. 

This world community begins where the local community 
leaves off. It ends only with the last person in the utter- 

203 


204 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


most parts of the earth. That portion of the world com¬ 
munity which lies within the United States is generally 
called home-missionary territory, and that lying outside 
the homeland is designated as the foreign-missionary field. 
But it is all one service. We cannot choose between them. 
We are bound to minister to both. 

The primary aim, of course, in all mission work is to 
teach the religion of Jesus and apply the saving power of 
his gospel to all the ranges of life. This requires not only 
the maintenance of a corps of evangelists in the mission 
field but the establishment of educational institutions, med¬ 
ical dispensaries, homes, hospitals, and trained technicians 
of all kinds, such as agriculturalists, chemists, biologists, 
engineers. Ultimately the purpose includes the Christian¬ 
ization of all social, industrial, and international relation¬ 
ships. 

To serve the world community the church must provide 
(i) workers and (2) money. The administrative problem 
consists of devising means to awaken such missionary in¬ 
terest in the church that there will be no lack either of 
persons willing to invest their lives in this service, or of 
equipment to permit them to serve effectively. And this 
interest must be permanent, not spasmodic. It should he 
such as to make every member of the church an intelligent 
missionary, in spirit cund intention, though possibly not en¬ 
gaged professionally in missionary service. This is the 
problem of the important subcommittee on missions of the 
great Committee on Service, which must “unite and cor¬ 
relate every parish interest which pertains to the propaga¬ 
tion of the gospel at home and abroad.” 

1. Interest in any matter that is sustained and abiding 
must rest upon knowledge. The first great item in the mis¬ 
sionary program of the local church, then, will be “ Mission¬ 
ary Education.” 

a. There are several institutions through which this edu¬ 
cational work may be accomplished in the average church 
—(1) The Woman’s Home Missionary Society and sub- 


THE WORLD COMMUNITY 


205 


sidiary organizations among the young people, such as the 
Queen Esther Circle, Home Guards, etc.; (2) the Woman’s 
Foreign Missionary Society and subsidiary organizations, 
such as The King’s Daughters, Little Light Bearers, etc.; 
(3) the Sunday school, which, according to the law of the 
church, must be organized as a missionary society; (4) the 
Epworth League, with its Department of Missions; (5) 
the organized Bible Class; and (6) the pulpit. It will appear 
at a glance that it is unnecessary to set up any new organ¬ 
izations for this task. The real problem with so many 
collaborating institutions is that of coordinating and dis¬ 
tributing the work so that there will no waste or needless 
duplication of effort. 

b. The materials of missionary education consist of (1) 
historical matter concerning the great periods of missionary 
expansion in the growth of the Christian Church, beginning 
with the story of the early church in the Acts of the Apos¬ 
tles; (2) biographies of great missionary leaders; (3) 
habits, customs, history, and ideals of races and national 
groups which are the objects of missionary endeavor; (4) 
the social aspects of mission work as appears in its influence 
on education, science, industry, and politics; (5) the study 
of particular mission fields and current events in those 
fields; (6) the great non-Christian religions of the world, 
for example, Buddhism, Mohammedanism, Taoism, Shinto¬ 
ism, Confucianism, etc.; with particular reference to the 
points at which they resemble, and differ from, Christianity; 
(7) the theory and practice of missions, explaining the great 
policies adopted by mission boards and the methods gen¬ 
erally employed in missionary endeavor; (8) the history 
and success of the more important Protestant mission 
boards. The Missionary Education Department of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church, 150 Fifth Avenue, New York 
city, will be glad to suggest suitable textbooks on these sub¬ 
jects, such as have been issued from time to time by the 
Missionary Education Movement of American Protes¬ 
tantism. 


206 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


c. The methods which have been employed successfully in 
many churches in presenting this great body of material 
include the following: (i) Sermons, lectures and ad¬ 
dresses by the pastor and other informed persons, particu¬ 
larly missionaries engaged actively in the home field or re¬ 
turned on furlough from the foreign field; (2) the dis¬ 
tribution of missionary literature and periodicals; (3) the 
organization of mission study classes; (4) creating a mis¬ 
sionary atmosphere by hanging on the walls of the church 
the pictures of persons who have gone out from its mem¬ 
bership into professional religious work as ministers, dea¬ 
conesses, foreign missionaries, etc.; (5) correspondence 
with these and other workers in the field; (6) amateur 
theatricals and pageants dealing with missionary subjects; 
(7) institutes and conferences. 

d. A unified program of missionary education might have 
some such appearance as this, taking into account the or¬ 
ganizations, the materials, and the methods that are usually 
available: 

I. Sermons, Addresses, St ere optic on Lectures 

1. The Pulpit, once each quarter. 

2. The Sunday school, once a month if possible. 

3. The Epworth League from four to six times a year. 

4. The Woman’s Organizations as frequently as can 

be arranged. 

II. Study Classes, conducted by the following organizations, 

no two covering the same subject or appealing to 
the same group: 

1. Woman’s Home Missionary Society. 

2. Woman’s Foreign Missionary Society. 

3. The Epworth League. 

4. The Sunday school, in all departments taking cer¬ 

tain Sundays for missionary lessons. 

Note. Competent leadership is all important. It is 
better to have one class with a strong leader than several 


THE WORLD COMMUNITY 


207 


led indifferently. The best results are secured when the 
class can meet weekly, perhaps in connection with the mid¬ 
week service. 

III. Missionary Literature 

1. Distributing such free literature as may be pre¬ 

pared by the benevolent boards of the church. 

2. Subscribing for church papers and missionary 

periodicals and textbooks. 

3. Calling attention occasionally to important articles 

and books on mission subjects and fields, pub¬ 
lished by the secular press. 

IV. Entertainments, Pageants, etc. 

Two or three each year given cooperatively by the young 
people of the church who are members of several mission¬ 
ary organizations. 

e. The aim of all true missionary education is to produce 
the “missionary person,” one who is filled with the mission¬ 
ary spirit. This spirit will express itself in many ways. 
Such a person will always pray for missions. Intercessory 
prayer has ever been a most important factor in extending 
the Kingdom. 

Again, the “missionary person” will always give himself 
—his time, and thought, and service—up to the full measure 
of his ability. A good program of missionary education 
should keep a stream of people going from the strong to the 
weaker churches in a spirit of helpfulness. More particu¬ 
larly, it should develop a corps of volunteer workers for 
distinctly home missionary tasks. The type of missionary 
interest that becomes enthusiastic over the Chinese in 
Peking but despises the representatives of that same race 
who populate our American “Chinatowns,” may well be 
suspected of unreality. Genuine missionary interest seizes 
upon the opportunity that lies nearest at hand. And out of 
the many who are willing to engage in part-time service, 
an occasional young man or woman will be prompted to 


208 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


consecrate a whole life to this special task. Always the 
pastor and lay leaders of the church should be alert to ad¬ 
vise and encourage, or to restrain, perhaps, such young 
people. 

Finally, the “missionary person” will give of his means 
to make it possible for others to do what he cannot do— 
give his whole time to missionary work. The subcommittee 
on missions will seek constantly to increase the missionary 
giving of the church. This matter of finances will receive 
more attention in a later chapter devoted to that subject. 

It appears, then, that the program for recruiting and 
giving must be supplemented by another program of mis¬ 
sionary education, and the two articulated into a single 
great world program: 

Missionary Recruiting and Giving 

I. Prayer 

1. Individual prayer for missions. 

2. Organizing bands of intercessors. 

II. Recruiting 

1. Life service conferences in the local church and at 

summer institutes. 

2. Constant attention by the pastor and others to 

the matter of personal guidance in life-work de¬ 
cisions. 

III. Giving 

1. Stewardship Campaigns. 

2. Financial canvass for support of the Benevolent 

Boards of the church. 

3. Supporting the mission work of local organiza¬ 

tions. 

Books Recommended for Further Study 

H. P. Douglass, The New Home Missions. 

R. E. Diffendorfer, Missionary Education in Home and School. 


THE WORLD COMMUNITY 


209 


Louise Creighton, Missions: Their Rise and Development. 

E. C. Moore, The Spread of Christianity in the Modern World. 
George A. Miller, Missionary Morale. 

A. J. Brown, Rising Churches in Non-Christian Lands. 

J. E. McAfee, World Missions from the Home Base. 

C. H. Patton, World Facts and America’s Responsibility. 

E. W. Capen, Sociological Progress in Mission Lands. 

W. H. P. Faunce, The Social Aspects of Foreign Missions. 

R. E. Speer, Missionary Principles and Practice; The Gospel and 
the New World. 

Fred B. Fisher, The Way to Win, Chapter IV. 


CHAPTER XIX 


THE ADMINISTRATION OF FINANCE 

As an administrative officer the pastor must give faithful 
attention to church finance. This cannot be left entirely 
to the laymen. He will not be officious or dictatorial, nor 
will he assume entire responsibility for raising the budget. 
But he should know the exact financial condition of the 
church every month and be ready with helpful suggestions 
concerning a wise financial policy. If the money is to be 
used for spiritual ends, then money-raising is quite as re¬ 
ligious as preaching. 

If American churches find difficulty in managing their 
finances generally, it is not because the members of the 
churches are poor. “Probably not more than two or three 
per cent of the churches secure all the funds they should in 
order to perform their duties,” says one expert in church 
finance. “According to the religious census of 1906, in¬ 
vestments in church property in America are less than one 
per cent of the national wealth, and the annual income of 
American churches for buildings, equipment, salaries, and 
all other purposes equals scarcely one per cent of the na¬ 
tional income.” 1 Nor is it because they are unwilling. The 
United Presbyterian denomination is composed chiefly of 
small churches, many of them located in rural communities 
and the open country, but their average giving is $20.90 
per member, including the children. In Iowa they averaged 
over $30 per member in 1914. We have a right to assume 
that they are not at heart more devoted than the members 
of other communions. 

The more common embarrassments in church finance are 

^cGarrah, Modern Church Finance, p. 27b By permission of 
Fleming H. Revell Company. 


210 



FINANCE 


211 


(i) delay in paying salaries and current bills, thus annoy¬ 
ing the minister and other creditors; (2) the accumulation 
of deficits year after year until the total is overwhelming; 
(3) many separate appeals for money, in public and in 
private; (4) dependence upon socials and entertainments 
to raise funds that should be contributed outright by the 
church membership; (5) the expectation that a few persons 
in the church shall assume obligations that should be dis¬ 
tributed throughout the whole body; (6) careless handling 
of funds, making possible great waste and loss through in¬ 
accurate bookkeeping, or failure to audit accounts annually; 
(7) inadequate budget through lack of vision and parsi¬ 
mony; (8) the major obligations, missionary and benevo¬ 
lent, of the church as a whole made impossible of attain¬ 
ment through the competitive solicitation of funds by minor 
organizations within the church; (9) complacency over past 
achievements and unwillingness to give up to the level of 
real ability; (10) the apologetic spirit in which money mat¬ 
ters are approached before the congregation; (11) no single 
individual responsible for the purchase of supplies; (12) 
no financial secretary to receive moneys before they are 
handed over to the treasurer; (13) the diversion of funds 
contributed for one purpose but used for another. In the 
light of all this, success in church finance must imply: 2 

(1) The honest and prompt payment of all bills and obli¬ 

gations. 

(2) Avoiding deficits and debts. 

(3) Adopting budgets that are sufficiently ample to be 

truly economical. 

(4) Securing funds by methods that are both Christian 

and business-like. 

(5) Democracy in giving. 

(6) Handling all moneys in business-like ways. 

(7) And raising all that should be raised. 

Summarized from A. F. McGarrah, Modern Church Finance, pp. 
n-18. By permission of Fleming H. Revell Company. 



212 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


i. The Committee on Finance. Responsibility for 
working out a sound financial policy rests upon the Finance 
Committee. The Discipline requires that this committee 
shall consist of from three to seven persons. It is customary 
to make the financial secretary and the treasurers members 
because they are better informed usually on financial con¬ 
ditions in the church than others. The pastor should meet 
with them frequently in an advisory capacity. The duties 
of the committee are stated very definitely: (i) Before the 
close of the fiscal year it shall “prepare an estimate of the 
current expenses and benevolences for the ensuing year. 
This estimate shall include the amount necessary for min¬ 
isterial support, viz.: pastor’s salary and house rent, dis¬ 
trict superintendent, bishops, and Conference claimants; 
also the amount deemed necessary for current expenses, 
such as interest on indebtedness, heat and light, music, in¬ 
surance, repairs and supplies, telephone, printing and post¬ 
age, janitor, and miscellaneous items; also for benevolences 
as apportioned to each charge by the Committee on Con¬ 
servation and Advance. (2) When approved by the official 
board or Quarterly Conference, immediate steps shall be 
taken by a personal canvass of the entire membership of 
the church and congregation to secure pledges to meet these 
expenses by weekly payments, so that the result may be 
known on the last Sunday of the fiscal year, and payment 
of these pledges begin on the first Sunday of the new fiscal 
year.” 3 Moreover, the General Conference has prescribed a 
plan, in great detail, for raising these budgets, which has 
been approved by the experience of many denominational 
bodies over a period of many years. It is substantially the 
plan described at length in McGarrah’s Modern Church 
Finance, and any finance committee that will work this 
plan exactly as set forth in the Discipline 4 will be happy 
over the results. Time would fail one to tell of half the 


“See Discipline (1920), H 112, §2. 
7 d., H hi. 



FINANCE 


213 


churches which have been rejuvenated by this all but per¬ 
fect device. 

2. Preparing the Budgets. In preparing the budgets, 
the committee should not ask, “How little can we get along 
with this year?” but, “How much should we raise in order 
that the church may be able to do all its work creditably 
and effectively ?” Moreover, the total budget should always 
be large enough to tax the church to something like its full 
capacity if spiritual results are to come from giving. A 
church composed of wealthy people should probably average 
from $50 to $100 per member, including children. A church 
of modest means should average from $20 to $40 for all 
purposes. 

a. The Local Budget. The first item in the local budget 
will be pastoral support, which includes the claim not only 
for the pastor and his associate, if there be one, but also 
those for the support of the bishops, the district superin¬ 
tendent, and the Conference claimants. The obligation re¬ 
quires that all these claims be fully met. Any deficit must 
be shared proportionately by all. Every year, if possible 
to do so in justice to other demands, a church should in¬ 
crease the pastor’s salary. The largest salaries are only 
sufficient to permit a standard of living that is enjoyed by 
most of the people in the church. And many, many minis¬ 
ters receive less each year than carpenters and blacksmiths. 
The inferior preaching in some pulpits is due to the fact 
that the minister’s income does not permit of anything but 
the narrowest range of experience. He cannot enrich his 
mind by travel, or even by books, for he is unable to pur¬ 
chase them. The church that will take these things into 
account in estimating the salary will find itself abundantly 
rewarded in the increased effectiveness of its pastor. More¬ 
over, the committee should ask itself if the pastor should not 
be relieved of a load of burdensome details in keeping 
church records and attending to other small matters that 
could be performed by a secretary or clerk. Is it wise 
economy to pay a pastor a good salary and then expect him 


214 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


to do work that another will do quite as well for eighteen 
or twenty dollars per week? 

Fuel, light, repairs, music, supplies, printing, insurance, 
are other fixed charges that necessarily appear against the 
local budget. It is impossible for those responsible for the 
expense items to estimate some of these exactly, because 
prices change and consumption varies from year to year. 
But the average for a period of three or five years may be 
taken as a safe guide. 

Interest charges on borrowed money must, of course, be 
provided for, and if there is a debt, the easiest way to pay 
it is to insert a substantial sum each year into the budget 
for its gradual reduction. 

To avoid a number of appeals later in the year from 
other committees and organizations for their special work, 
the Finance Committee would do well to ask from each a 
careful estimate of the amount needed to carry on its work. 
Then an appropriation can be made for each organization, 
and the members of the church may be asked fairly to give 
to the church budget as much as they have been in the habit 
of giving for all purposes. This is particularly true of the 
Sunday school, whose expenses should be borne by the 
church and whose gifts should be made to the church 
budget rather than independently of it. And to guard the 
treasury, the Finance Committee should insist that a single 
individual shall be “purchasing agent” for all supplies 
bought in the name of the church, and his approval neces¬ 
sary to the payment of bills. In this way the control of ex¬ 
pense and income may be unified, and also appeals for funds. 
It will make for clear understanding if, in estimating the 
expense for the coming year, the actual expenditures for 
the current year and the year preceding be noted in parallel 
columns. In this way the subscribers can tell at a glance 
where the budget has expanded and contracted. A detailed 
estimate of receipts should accompany the estimate of ex¬ 
penditures. 

In establishing the limits of a fiscal year, it is usually 


FINANCE 


215 


better to select October 1, January 1, April 1, or July 1, 
than “Conference time,” which is a movable date. 

After the budget has been prepared with great care, it 
should be submitted and explained to the official board for 
their adoption. 

The local budget for a church of 500 to 800 members will 
appear somewhat as follows : 5 

BUDGET OF LOCAL EXPENSES METHODIST EPISCOPAL 

CHURCH 

Estimated Expenditures 


For the Fiscal Year Beginning October 1, 1923. 


Pastoral Support (Pastor, 

1921 

1922 

1923 

Increase^ 

Dist. Sup. Bishops, Conf. 




Decrease- 

Cl.) . 

$ 3,390 

$ 3,390 

$ 3,590 

$200+ 

Secretarial Help. 



600 

600+ 

Janitor .. 

720 

720 

720 


Janitor Supplies. 

50 

60 

50 

10- 

Fuel and Light. 

620 

620 

620 


Music . 

1,200 

1,200 

800 

400- 

Insurance . 

75 

75 

75 


Repairs . 

800 

2,000 

500 

1,50a- 

Printing, Postage, etc. 

425 

425 

425 


Telephone . 

60 

60 

60 


Interest . 

900 

750 

750 


Reduction of Debt. 

2,500 


2,500 

2,50Of 

Telephone . 

60 

60 

60 


Sunday-school . 

900 

900 

900 


Miscellaneous . 

300 

300 

300 


Total .• 

$12,000 

$10,560 

$11,950 

$1,390+ 


Estimated Receipts 


Expectation from unpaid, 1922, pledges. $600 

Pledges renewable at 10 per cent increase. 9,750 

Pledges from new members. 1,000 

From Sunday-school for local Budget. 750 


Total .$ I2 doo 


‘See McGarrah, op. cit., for suggestions, 
































216 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


The budget for a church of 250 to 300 members would 
probably be somewhat as follows: 


Estimated Expenditures 


For the Fiscal Year Beginning October 1, I9 2 3- 



1921 

1922 

i 9 2 3 

Increase^ 

Decrease- 

Pastoral Support. 

.. $2,360 

$2,470 

$2,583 

$113+ 

Clerical Help. 


100 

150 

50 + 

Janitor . 

300 

300 

300 


Fuel and Light. 

250 

250 

250 


Insurance . 

50 

5 o 

50 


Music . 


100 

100 


Repairs . 


300 

500 

200+ 

Printing, postage, etc.... 


100 

100 


Interest . 

350 

300 

250 

50 - 

Reduction of Debt. 


1,000 

1,000 


Sunday-school . 


400 

450 

5 <H- 

Miscellaneous . 


200 

200 


Total . 

.. $ 5 , 7 io 

$ 5,570 

$ 5,933 

$363+ 


Needed to pay all bills $114.11 each week. 

Estimated Receipts 

Weekly pledges from 


5 members 

at $3.00 

per 

week.... 


10 ” 

99 

2.00 

99 

99 


15 

99 

I .00 

99 

99 

. 15-00 

15 

99 

•75 

99 

99 


40 

99 

•50 

99 

99 


60 

99 

.25 

99 

99 


30 ” 

99 

.20 

99 

99 


25 ” 

99 

.IO 

99 

99 

. 2.50 

From the Sunday-school for local 

expenses... 


Expectation from unpaid pledges, 1922, average 
per week. 


$104.75 

5 00 
5-00 


Total 


$114.75 


b. The Benevolent Budget is somewhat simpler, the items 
being received, for the most part, from the district super¬ 
intendent, It includes (1) the Apportioned Benevolences 
































FINANCE 


217 


ordered by the Committee on Conservation and Advance for 
the support of the great boards of the General Church; (2) 
the apportionments ordered by the Annual Conference for 
educational and philanthropic work within the Conference; 

(3) the benevolences ordered by the Official Board of the 
local church for the support of community enterprises, such 
as City Missions, Educational Institutions, Anti-Saloon 
League, Associated Charities, etc. 

It will relieve the pastor of much embarrassment often if 
the official board will adopt a rule that no public appeal 
shall be made from the pulpit for funds without the con¬ 
sent of the board. 

The items in this budget should be set forth in orderly 
fashion and added to the local budget. The total will be 
the amount which must be raised by the congregation dur¬ 
ing the year. Ideally the Benevolent Budget should equal 
the Local Budget. “As much for others as ourselves” 
At least half of the gift from the Sunday school should be 
credited to the Benevolent Budget. 

3. The Financial Plan. There are six features in the 
financial plan recommended by the General Conference, and 
each is indispensable. (See Discipline.) 

a. Education. After the two budgets have been approved 
by the official board, a campaign of education covering a 
month should be instituted for the purpose of informing 
the membership accurately concerning them, the reasons for 
enlargements, and the plan adopted for raising the money. 
The methods usually employed in this educational work are: 

(1) Form Letters sent to all members setting forth es¬ 
sential facts briefly. 6 

(2) Church Bulletins where such are printed. 

(3) Full explanation from the pulpit. 

(4) Special dinners and social gatherings. 

(5) And instruction in Christian Stewardship and Sys¬ 
tematic Giving throughout the year. 


fl See McGarrah, Modern Church Finance, for good sample letters, 



218 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


After the plan has once been put into operation, the edu¬ 
cational work will be less arduous in succeeding years. 

b. Every-M ember Canvass, (i) Canvassers are selected 
from among the most capable men and women in the church, 
and in sufficient numbers that no one will need to visit more 
than twenty persons, fewer, if possible. After careful train¬ 
ing they make their own pledges—then go two by two to 
every member of the church, securing a subscription from 
each, children as well as parents. It is an << every-member ,> 
—not an “ every-family^ canvass. 

(2) It is generally best to limit the canvass to a short 
period, preferably between certain hours on a given Sunday 
afternoon. The members of the church will expect the 
visitors and be prepared to make their pledges without much 
argument. Many congregations give a sacramental charac¬ 
ter to the canvass by commissioning the canvassers in a 
season of prayer at the altar of the church in the morning 
service preceding the canvass. Of course such persons as 
cannot be seen on the day set apart will be visited as soon 
thereafter as possible. 

(3) In distributing the names of persons to be solicited 
it is generally well to permit the canvassers to select, as 
far as possible, those whom they can approach most easily. 
The remainder may be assigned arbitrarily. The name of 
each prospective giver should be placed upon a card con¬ 
taining the amount paid the preceding year and the amount 
that the committee feels may reasonably be expected on 
the new budget. This is given the canvasser for his in¬ 
formation. It is not an apportionment—merely a sug¬ 
gestion. 

c. Weekly Offering. The pledge is a weekly pledge to be 
divided between the Local and the Benevolent Budgets ac¬ 
cording to the wish of the giver. 

d. Envelope System. Each subscriber is provided with a 
set of fifty-two duplex envelopes which he is expected to use 
in paying his pledge week by week. These can be secured 
from The Methodist Book Concern, 


FINANCE 


219 


e. Two Budgets and Two Treasurers. To avoid con¬ 
fusion and diversion of funds, the official board is asked to 
elect two treasurers, one for the Local and the other for the 
Benevolent Budget. Moreover, a financial secretary is to be 
chosen who shall receive all moneys, keeping an accurate 
account with each subscriber, then turning the moneys over 
to the respective treasurers, receiving their receipts there¬ 
for. Thus church funds are handled in a businesslike 
manner.” The treasurers shall pay out this money by check 
and only on the authority of the Finance Committee or the 
official board. 

/. Monthly or Quarterly Remittance. The Apportioned 
Benevolences should be sent each month or each quarter 
to the Committee on Conservation and Advance. This will 
make it possible to reduce the interest charges of the several 
boards. Other benevolences should be sent directly to ex¬ 
ecutive officers of the respective beneficiary organizations, 
or deposited with the Conference Treasurer, by the pastor, 
at the next session of the Annual Conference. 

Books Recommended for Further Study 

A. F. McGarrah, Modern Church Finance. 

F. A. Agar, Modern Money Methods; Church Finance. 

F. B. Fisher, The Way to Win, Chapter VIII. 

Discipline, Methodist Episcopal Church, 1920. 


CHAPTER XX 


CHURCH RECORDS 

An important part of the work of administration is to 
keep accurate records of all transactions. In a great de¬ 
partment store every sale, however small, is recorded in 
such detail that, years after, the management can quickly 
discover the nature of the sale, the date, and the clerk who 
made it. All that comes in and goes out is carefully checked 
—whether goods, cash, or employees—so that at the end of 
the year everything and everyone is accounted for. Only 
by giving attention thus to accurate accounting is it possible 
to carry on any organized business. While this is being 
written, a man, reputed two years ago to be a multimillion¬ 
aire, is going into bankruptcy in Chicago unexpectedly to 
himself! He says he thought he was making money until 
a few weeks ago. This ignorance on his part is due pri¬ 
marily to his failure to keep proper records. 

Ideally, the local Methodist Episcopal Church is sup¬ 
posed to have a good accounting department. “Are the 
church records properly kept ?” is an inquiry made annually 
in the Quarterly Conference. A Committee on Church 
Records is appointed and required to report annually on 
the condition of all record books (not financial) of each 
organization in the church. Furthermore, an Auditing- 
Committee is required to audit the accounts of all financial 
officers. But these seldom function or tell the whole truth 
when they do attempt to discharge their duties. So “church 
records” have come to be a symbol for confusion and un¬ 
intelligibility. Church reports and statistics can almost 
never be taken at their face value. If the State were to call 
for such an accounting from religious organizations as is 
demanded of banks and life-insurance companies, the com¬ 
munity is rare indeed, that would escape without an eccle- 

220 


CHURCH RECORDS 


221 


siastical scandal. Such carelessness puts a sore temptation 
in the way of church officers charged with the care of 
church money. And to be careless in accounting for the 
people intrusted to the church is a greater sin! 

The General Conference of 1920 gave careful considera¬ 
tion to records, and approved certain forms for Quarterly 
Conference and official-board business. The official board 
is responsible for (1) church members, and (2) church 
funds. The pastor represents them in caring for the former, 
and the financial secretary and two treasurers for the latter. 
And the General Conference is very clear about the kind of 
records that are to be kept by every such officer in any 
Methodist Church. No better investment of money can be 
made than to secure from the nearest depository of The 
Methodist Book Concern these new forms if they are not 
already in use in the local church. 

1. Records to be Kept by the Pastor. 

a. A Permanent Membership Roll which constitutes the 
fundamental record of personnel. The names should be ar¬ 
ranged alphabetically and grouped by families. The only 
way this record can be kept up-to-date without rewriting 
frequently is to use a loose-leaf book. A page should be 
given to each name, the lower part providing for the names 
of other members of the family. In case of death or re¬ 
moval, the leaf can be taken out of the active list and rein¬ 
serted in the same book under the guide “Removed,” or 
“Died.” The data should be very full, including head of 
family; occupation; business address; telephone number, 
family and Christian names; state in life; official position in 
the church; when, how, where received; when, how, where 
removed; other members of family; baptized children; 
birthday (if under 21); organizations in which active, as 
Sunday school, Epworth League, W. F. M. S., W. H. 
M. S., etc. This roll should contain the list of preparatory 
and nonresident members as well as those in full resident 
membership. 


222 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


b. Card Index.—Membership and Constituency Roll. 
The permanent loose-leaf roll is not practicable for daily 
reference. A card index should be prepared containing the 
names of full members, probationers, and constituents. 
Cards of different colors may be used for different classi¬ 
fications, for example, full members, white ; probationers, 
yellow; constituents, blue. This index will be in use con¬ 
stantly in pastoral and evangelistic work. It also has great 
value as a “mailing list” for circularizing the church. The 
data may be much less full than on the permanent roll, in¬ 
cluding only such facts as are especially useful in everyday 
work and experience—full name, residence and business ad¬ 
dresses, telephone number, organizations in which the indi¬ 
viduals are shown to be active, official relation, for example, 
steward, trustee, president Ladies’ Aid, teacher in Sunday 
school, etc. 

c. Historical Record. Certain matters of permanent in¬ 
terest, not provided for above, should be recorded in a 
bound volume of board covers. This book should contain 
(i) A history of the local organization, brought up to date 
annually; (2) A record of pastors and terms of service; 

(3) The official members from the time of organization; 

(4) The statistical and benevolent reports made yearly to 
the Annual Conference; (5) Baptisms; (6) Marriages; 
and (7) Deaths. 

d. Calling List. In addition to the card index, the pastor 
should have a “street list” of members and constituents in 
compact form which he carries with him constantly. This 
should be revised frequently and left with his successor on 
removing from the charge. 

2. Official Board Records. 

a. Record Book for Secretary of the Official Board con¬ 
taining full minutes of all actions by the board. 

b. Record Books for Secretaries of Boards of Trustees 
and Stewards, respectively, when separately organized, 
containing full minutes of proceedings. 


CHURCH RECORDS 


223 


c. Financial Secretary's Record, containing (1) Detailed 
weekly account with each individual subscriber to the two 
budgets, and a (2) Weekly summary of cash received on 
subscriptions and special collections, and deposited with 
the two treasurers. 

d. Record of the Treasurer of Benevolences should con¬ 
tain (1) The amounts apportioned for the several causes; 

(2) Cash received, source and purpose; (3) Cash disbursed, 
and vouchers for the same; (4) Blanks for yearly report 
to the Annual Conference with carbon copies for perma¬ 
nent record. 

e. Record of Treasurer of Local Expense Fund should 
contain (1) Cash received from subscriptions and special 
collections; (2) Cash disbursed, and warrants for same; 

(3) Ledger accounts with the pastor, district superinten¬ 
dent, janitor, and others as necessary; (4) Monthly sum¬ 
mary and report. 

3. Sunday-School Records. 

Great variety is found in the matter of Sunday-school 
records. A large school, closely graded by departments and 
classes, will necessarily work out a system of accounting 
more complicated than is desirable for a small school. It 
would appear, however, that the following records are essen¬ 
tial in any school if people and money are to be accounted 
for satisfactorily: 

a. Sunday-School Secretary — 

(1) Permanent Register in which every new member is 
enrolled on joining the school, containing name, address, 
date of birth, date of enrollment. 

(2) Card Index of officers, teachers, and pupils, arranged 
alphabetically by departments and classes, with fuller data 
than is asked for in permanent register, such as members of 
church; baptized; attendance (by month or quarter) ; par¬ 
ents or other members of family; activities, when, why, and 
how removed, etc. 

(3) Class Books containing names of teachers and each 


224 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


member of the several classes to mark attendance, collec¬ 
tion, study of lesson, etc. 

(4) Summaries of attendance and collections by week, 
month, quarter, and year. 

b. Sunday-School Treasurer — 

(1) Weekly Record of cash received by classes. 

(2) Cash disbursed—warrants and vouchers for same. 

4. Other Organizations. 

The Secretaries of other organizations, such as the Ep- 
worth League, Ladies’ Aid Society, and the Women’s Mis¬ 
sionary Societies, should keep (1) accurate membership rec¬ 
ords of their respective organizations and (2) complete 
minutes of all meetings. These should be submitted to the 
Committee on Church Records for inspection each year. 

The Treasurers of these organizations should keep care¬ 
ful records of all moneys received and disbursed by them, 
and submit their accounts to the Auditing Committee of the 
official board annually, as well as reporting to their own 
organizations. For the official board has responsibility for 
their oversight by virtue of the fact that all these organ¬ 
izations have representation in that body. 

Note: The necessary books and supplies are all obtain¬ 
able from The Methodist Book Concern, 150 Fifth Avenue, 
New York city. 


CHAPTER XXI 


CHURCH PUBLICITY 

Those engaged professionally in the advertising business 
complain that they are unable to overcome the conservatism 
of the church as to publicity. As a matter of fact, the 
church for many centuries has practiced publicity diligently. 
The church spire, setting the church building apart from 
all others in the community and visible from afar, has been 
for centuries an excellent device for advertising religion; 
and the cross on the spire and the gable-ends commonly sug¬ 
gests certain denominational viewpoints in religion. 

The most that can be said truthfully is that the church 
is only conservative in adopting certain new methods of 
publicity. The inertia of an old and established institution 
is, in part, responsible; in other part, it is due to the control 
of an old ideal in all the great professions that disapproves 
undue self-assertion on the part of professional workers 
in attracting attention to themselves. It is not quite obvious 
that the bizarre methods employed in getting a certain 
brand of chewing-gum or cigarettes before the nation are in 
good taste for lawyers, physicians, and ministers. A news¬ 
paper may shamelessly declare itself “the Greatest News¬ 
paper in the World,” but such a legend emblazoned above 
the door of the church is so at variance with the spirit of 
humility as to arouse the suspicion that the church, through 
pride and self-conceit, has ceased to be Christian. On the 
other hand, the professional worker must believe in his 
cause or he will never succeed. Self-confidence is indis¬ 
pensable, so long as it stops short of egotism. And he must 
find a way to establish new personal contacts, thus widening 
the range of acquaintance. All this applies to the church 
and the minister as certainly as to medicine and the physi- 

225 


226 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


cian. It would be stupid for any religious worker to say, 
“I do not believe in publicity.” But a wise man will be 
cautious about the publicity methods which he employs. 

No final answer can be made to the question, “What is 
legitimate?” Whatever will appeal to the imagination of 
the community, without cheapening religion or offending 
good taste, is in order. But communities differ greatly in 
their standards touching such matters. Moreover, a man 
must be true to himself, doing nothing that will harm his 
self-respect. This implies that he must constantly examine 
the motive that actuates him in his desire for publicity. 
Does he seek a crowd for a crowd’s sake? to gratify his 
conceit? or is he honestly desirous of reaching unselfishly 
a larger number of people for the good he can do them? 
Within these limits the largest liberty must be accorded 
ministers and churches. 

It is quite possible that in another twenty-five years 
churches generally will employ devices which now are used 
only by a very few. Let it be said, however, that modern 
advertising has become almost an art. And one who con¬ 
templates the use of new methods should read many volumes 
on the general subject before committing himself to a unique 
program of publicity. And he should read everything that 
has been written by the pioneers in these methods as applied 
to churches. The more helpful volumes will be found listed 
at the close of this chapter. 

But the publicity methods which are most open to criti¬ 
cism are probably least valuable for the work of the church. 
After all such are eliminated, there remains a multitude of 
devices which are generally approved, whose power does not 
derive from novelty and is not affected by frequent repe¬ 
tition. And every pastor should use them in his work. 

i. Well-Kept Church Property. The condition of 
the building and grounds always advertises the church, 
sometimes for better and sometimes for worse! Some con¬ 
gregations would find new people coming to their services if 
they would only spend a little money on paint and keep 


CHURCH PUBLICITY 


227 


the lawn well watered and neatly trimmed. And an at¬ 
tractive exterior must be matched by a clean and inviting 
interior. The stranger in the community instinctively feels 
that a church which keeps its property in good condition 
probably has other worth-while ideals. On the contrary, if 
the first impression made by the property be one of untidi¬ 
ness and general decay, he does not expect much helpfulness 
from its spiritual ministry. Experience too often justifies 
this estimate. 

2. A Bulletin Board. A bulletin board on the outside 
of the church is a useful publicity device, provided it is 
neat in its appearance and announces simply and briefly the 
services to be held, together with the name and address of 
the pastor. One that is in need of paint or repair, or on 
which the announcements are hastily scrawled with crayon, 
is of questionable value. If an announcement is worth 
making, it should be made in such fashion as to attract— 
not repel. Many churches in recent years post a “wayside 
sermon,” consisting of a single short sentence, on their bul¬ 
letins, thus rendering a helpful ministry by dropping a great 
thought into the minds of those who read. 

3. Worth-While Services. No church has a right to 
large numbers in its congregation unless it is doing every¬ 
thing in its power to make the services worth while. By 
novel publicity methods it may be possible to induce people 
to enter the church for a single service, but if they get 
nothing, they will not return a second time, be the publicity 
agent ever so clever. “Have something of value to adver¬ 
tise before you advertise,” is a word of caution needed by 
many congregations and ministers. To conduct their serv¬ 
ices of worship more skillfully and make them more dyna¬ 
mic, to improve the quality of their educational work, to 
give Christian fellowship more significance would be the 
finest possible “ad” for many congregations. 

4. Printing. The printer’s art can be of great help in 
spreading information about the work of the church. 

a. A congregation which can afford it should publish a 


228 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


“weekly calendar” containing all announcements for the 
next week. It is better than making oral announcements, 
for the calendar may be taken home for reference. It 
should be paid for, as is true of all printed matter issued 
by the church, out of the church treasury and never con¬ 
tain anything except church news. No official board should 
permit the pastor or any organization in the church to so¬ 
licit advertisements with the view of compelling the business 
men to bear the cost of such publications. This is a de¬ 
liberate exploitation of commercial institutions, and it is 
disastrous for worship. While the minister attempts to lead 
the minds of the congregation in prayer, the bulletin, thus 
prostituted to secular ends, is reminding them where they 
may secure groceries and clothing most cheaply. 

b. Paid “display ads” in the newspapers are becoming 
increasingly common. The writing of them so as to be im¬ 
pressive is a difficult matter. 

c. Better than these are “news letters” about the churches 
of the community, which the editors are glad to publish 
frequently without cost if prepared by a minister who 
knows how to write newspaper English. 

d. For special meetings or unusual occasions, window 
cards are valuable. 

e. Neatly printed invitations sent through the mails or 
carried by church visitors to individuals make a good im¬ 
pression generally. The mechanical work of all printed 
matter issued by the church should be excellent and on 
good paper. 

5. Personal Touch. The most valuable publicity is 
that which costs nothing—the commendation of those who 
are pleased with what they have found. This is personal 
and voluntary. When the members of the church express 
spontaneously great happiness in the fellowship and wor¬ 
ship of their church, that church will have congregations 
whether they employ unique methods of advertising or not. 
Let church members form the habit of talking their church 
up—not down. It will always be possible to find some fault 


CHURCH PUBLICITY 


229 


if one is so disposed; but, on the contrary, there is nearly 
always more to commend than condemn if we choose to 
find it. 

a. Pastoral visiting. The systematic visitation of all 
persons on the membership and constituency rolls of the 
church by the pastor is a very fine method of publicity, to 
say no more concerning it. It suggests that the chief leader 
of the church is personally interested in the people of the 
community, and makes an irresistible appeal. However 
large the membership, and however many paid workers 
there may be on the ministerial staff, every pastor should 
“visit from house to house.” 

b. Personal Canvass. An organized canvass of the com¬ 
munity for persons, similar to a canvass for money, in 
which members of the church carry invitations to other 
persons, individually, is immensely rewarding. 

c. Letter-writing. The writing of letters, where calls 
cannot be made, will often serve equally well. 

d. Telephone. A pastor in Denver had his church so 
perfectly organized by the “Unit System” (though not a 
Methodist church) that by using the telephone, the whole 
constituency could be informed of any important matter in 
two hours, without anyone calling more than six or eight 
persons. The pastor would call his ten “captains”; each of 
these, five or six “lieutenants”; and each of these, six or 
eight persons or families. “In rural communities, one per¬ 
son can notify all the families on a given telephone line.” 

6. Cooperative Publicity. In many communities the 
churches advertise cooperatively through the press, by bill¬ 
boards, and other devices. The occasion is generally some 
special event or campaign, though it may be intended merely 
to call attention to the regular services of the church. The 
“Go-to-Church Sunday” is a familiar example. 

7. The Advertising Committee. Many churches have 
an advertising committee composed of from three to five 
persons whose judgment and zeal in such matters are worth 
while. The pastor should meet with them frequently to 


230 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


suggest and guide—sometimes to save himself embarrass¬ 
ment resulting from the personal exploitation of his gifts 
by the committee. For an unrestrained publicity commit¬ 
tee will almost certainly proclaim from the housetop the 
virtues of their pastor in a way that is painful to a modest 
man. Advertise the church, but not the pastor! 

8 . Miscellaneous Methods. The resourcefulness of 
such committees is very great. Among the devices which 
have been employed successfully have been (a) parades, ( b ) 
billboards, (c) broadcasting from radio-stations, (d) blot¬ 
ters in schoolrooms and the writing rooms of hotels, (e) 
electric crosses and signs on the church, (/) street-car bul¬ 
letins, ( g ) musical programs, (h) doorknob tags, ( i ) stories 
of community service rendered by the church, (/) lead pen¬ 
cils with name of church upon them, etc. The literature 
of this subject is growing rapidly and is very suggestive for 
those contemplating new methods. 

Books Recommended for Further Study 

E. E. Elliott, How to Advertise a Church. 

Christian F. Reisner, Church Publicity. 

Charles Stelzle, Principles of Successful Church Advertising. 

William C. Skeath, Building the Congregation. 

A. F. McGarrah, Practical Inter-Church Methods, pp. 199-335. 

Fred B. Fisher, The Way to Win, Chapter VI. 

Francis H. Case, Handbook of Church Advertising. 

Roy L. Smith, Capturing Crowds. 


CHAPTER XXII 


CHURCH BUILDINGS 

Buildings ill adapted to the needs of a religious organ¬ 
ization are responsible for much inefficiency in the church. 
Sometimes this is the result of poverty. The congregation 
may not be able to afford a better house. But often it is 
due to ignorance on the part of the pastor, influential lay¬ 
men, or the architect. The congregation may supply money 
in abundance, but those responsible for spending it may 
create a pile of brick and mortar that would serve as a 
railway station or a factory quite as well as a church. A 
church was built in Illinois some years ago whose total 
cost approximated $100,000, and the acoustics were so bad 
when it was finished that the worshiping congregation be¬ 
yond the first few rows of pews could not understand what 
the speaker was saying. That was a defect for which the 
architect was to blame. Within five years the only church 
in a community of a thousand people was built in Kansas 
at a cost of $30,000. This organization is responsible for 
the religious education of three or four hundred young 
people and for the money which they provided at great sac¬ 
rifice they got a building of four rooms—a large and a 
small one above ground, and these were duplicated in the 
basement. Almost in the center of the large basement room, 
a huge hot air furnace was installed, reducing the service¬ 
ability of that room by at least fifty per cent. The respon¬ 
sibility for this fearful blunder must rest upon the pastor 
and the building committee, for the structure does not show 
that they had any proper knowledge of the work which a 
modern church should undertake. Another building com¬ 
mittee in Iowa was persuaded that an architect’s fee of $200 
would be a misappropriation of funds, and, with the assist¬ 
ance of a local contractor, drew their own plans, and spent 

231 


232 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


$12,000 in erecting a building. When finished the church 
proved to be unsafe for a public assemblage. Poor ven¬ 
tilation, crude interior decoration, and inadequate heating 
facilities are other very common defects, which cannot be 
charged to poverty. All this is said to emphasize the fact 
that much is needed besides money to provide properly 
for the housing of a congregation. Just as some persons 
are better dressed on a small income than others who are 
not compelled to practice economy, so many congregations, 
because they were led by men of intelligence and insight, 
possess a more serviceable church building than others, and 
at a smaller cost. 

We do not have space, even if we possessed the ability, 
to write a treatise on church architecture. A few consid¬ 
erations, however, may be emphasized as important for all 
who contemplate remodeling or building new churches. 

i. Neither size nor cost necessarily determines worth in 
a church building, but fitness to serve the religious needs of 
the community. The three great activities of the church 
are worship, education, and service, and every church 
should be adapted to this threefold function. It is re¬ 
markable what excellent service can be rendered with lim¬ 
ited equipment in the hands of an imaginative pastor. A 
single room seated with movable chairs placed in rows, is 
a place of worship. With these chairs rearranged in circles 
or semicircles and concealed from each other by portable 
screens, it is a schoolroom in which the church performs 
its educational task. Another arrangement of chairs and 
screens, and it becomes a social center promoting good will 
and fellowship. The chairs pushed back against the walls 
—the room is a gymnasium in which basket-ball, volley-ball, 
and captain-ball are played by the young people. Arranged 
in rows again facing the platform, it is an “opera house” 
in which are held amateur theatricals, farmers’ institutes, 
and other neighborhood meetings. Of course, this is not 
at all ideal. But if it is the best the community can afford, 
it can be made very usable. 


CHURCH BUILDINGS 


2 33 


2. As rapidly as increasing wealth permits the people 
to have better homes, they should have a better place of wor¬ 
ship to comport with the new standard of living. In plan¬ 
ning for the new church, let the demands of worship and 
education have the right of way over everything else. Do 
not build a larger main room than is needed for the ordinary 
occasions of worship. Probably some allowance should be 
made for growth, but to provide seating capacity for eight 
hundred when no more than two hundred usually come is 
a mistake. Remember too that the Protestant ideal requires 
intelligibility throughout the service. Acoustics should be 
such that a speaker may be heard easily in every part of 
the room. Ventilation is all-important. It should be pos¬ 
sible to get a fresh supply of air into the room constantly 
without a draft blowing on any person in the congregation. 
The heating system should warm the room to sixty-five de¬ 
grees in cold weather without an extravagant outlay for 
fuel. The interior decoration has much to do with creating 
atmosphere in a place of worship. The best taste in these 
matters declares in favor of simple lines and light colors, 
and against somber tones and mural decorations in the form 
of figures, or even verses of Scripture. 

The building should be as well adapted to modern ideals 
in religious education as worship. Warm, well-ventilated, 
cheery rooms, large enough to accommodate respectively 
the Beginners’, Primary, and Junior Departments of the 
Sunday school, are needed. The other departments may 
assemble in a larger room for worship, but as nearly as 
possible each class should have its own room for study and 
instruction. Some of the rooms used by the elementary 
departments may well be furnished as parlors for social 
and fellowship meetings of other organizations in the 
church. 

Rooms designed primarily for service, such as game-, 
rooms, club-rooms, gymnasium, etc., should be included in 
the plan only after a careful and prolonged study of the 
relation of the church to the needs of the community. It 


2 34 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


is to be feared that such rooms sometimes have been built 
because they were supposed to be “up to date” rather than 
because they were sorely needed. This service entails an 
increased budget for special workers and maintenance of 
plant. Unless all this is clearly understood and provided 
for by the Finance Committee, it is much better to keep 
these out of consideration. Not a few congregations which 
possess this kind of equipment wish they were rid of it. 

3. All of which leads to the following suggestions. 

a. No plans should be made for a building enterprise 
until the needs of the community have been studied care¬ 
fully, and specific conclusions reached, in conference with 
lay leaders, concerning the exact nature of the service to 
be undertaken by the church. 

b. The financial resources of the church and its con¬ 
stituency should be estimated as accurately as possible and 
some decision reached as to the maximum amount that can 
be raised for this purpose. 

c. The committee should then consult with the architects 
who are specialists in planning church buildings. One 
may be competent to design an office building and possess 
no ability to draw plans for a church. The Board of Sunday 
Schools, the Board of Home Missions and Church Exten¬ 
sion, and the Committee on Conservation and Advance have 
organized cooperatively an excellent Bureau of Architec¬ 
ture, employing only those draughtsmen who are experts 
in designing buildings for public worship and religious edu¬ 
cation. This bureau will be pleased to submit several 
plans to any inquiring official board, at a small fraction of 
the usual architect’s fee, on being informed of the number 
of persons to be accommodated, the exact nature of the 
services to be rendered by the church, and the total cost 
which the congregation can afford. 

d. Great care should be taken in selecting a suitable 
building site. We do well to follow the example of the 
Roman Catholics in locating churches where they will be 
accessible to the majority and on conspicuous sites. The 


CHURCH BUILDINGS 


235 


unfortunate location of many churches makes it impossible 
for them to serve effectively. 

Books Recommended for Further Study 

E. deS. Brunner, The New Country Church Building. 

Herbert F. Evans, The Sunday School Building and Its Equip¬ 
ment. 

P. E. Burroughs, Church and Sunday School Buildings. 


CHAPTER XXIII 


THE CHURCH SURVEY 

The policies of the local church and the form of the or¬ 
ganization should be determined by scientifically observ¬ 
able facts —physical, personal, industrial, social, and reli¬ 
gious—which appear in the life of the community. Some 
of these may be seen at a glance. Others are discovered 
only after diligent search. The device employed for un¬ 
covering them is commonly called a social survey. It is in 
some disfavor for the moment because of abuse by “fad¬ 
dists” who do nothing about the data which they assemble 
by ostentatious effort. In principle, however, the survey 
is absolutely sound. No pastor or church can do its work 
properly without taking “a calm, clear look into the com¬ 
munity to see what is there.” 

This is probably the place to say that one should not 
form his notion of a survey entirely from the elaborate 
findings of the Russell Sage Foundation, or other agencies 
which in recent years have made exhaustive studies of com¬ 
munity life. The average pastor has neither ability nor 
time for such microscopic social analysis. Nor is it neces¬ 
sary. For the most part, such facts as are important for 
him may be observed quietly as he performs the routine 
work of the parish. On occasion he may institute an or¬ 
ganized canvass in which he should have the assistance of 
other pastors and competent laymen. But even here the 
aim of the study should be so clear and definite that nothing 
irrelevant shall emerge to produce confusion. It is better 
to make several simple surveys than attempt a more com¬ 
prehensive study which embraces a bewildering body of 
facts. Let the surveyor be very certain what specific things 
he desires to know, and then go about it in the most direct 
fashion to discover them. 


236 


THE CHURCH SURVEY 


237 


1. The Religious Census. In general it may be said 
that church surveys usually take one of three forms. 1 

I. The first is not properly a sociological survey at all, 
but merely a census in which the enumerators list all per¬ 
sons in the community with reference to their religious af¬ 
filiations, noting such facts as will be helpful to the churches 
in serving them. When every house is to be canvassed, 
all religious organizations in the community should par¬ 
ticipate. If the work is done by a single organization, 
scrupulous care should be exercised in notifying other de¬ 
nominations of those who prefer their ministry. Such a 
canvass is necessary before a complete constituency roll can 
be prepared and will supply a list of prospective members 
for evangelistic and Sunday-school campaigns. 

A card which can be filed in an index for permanent rec¬ 
ord is filled out for each member of the family. The in¬ 
formation usually asked for includes the following: 

Name; residence; business address; telephone number; 
age; married; unmarried; widowed; church membership; 
church preference; Sunday school attended, etc. 

It is possible to increase the number of questions, but 
these are sufficient to locate the individuals. Other in¬ 
formation may be collected later by church visitors. In 
communities where the population is constantly shifting, 
this canvass should he made annually. 

Accuracy on the part of the enumerators is very impor¬ 
tant. The pastors should meet them for training several 
times previous to the census. When possible, they should 
go in pairs. In small communities, the pastors themselves 
can do the work without assistance from the laymen. Pre¬ 
pared forms may be secured from certain agencies, but it is 
better to make out the particular blank desired and have it 
printed locally. 

The importance of such a census cannot be doubted. It 
is a systematic search for the unchurched, and renders it 


*See Fisher, The Way to Win, p. i 3 I ff* 



238 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


impossible for any religious organization to be unaware of 
its obligation to minister to certain people. Of course it 
is of no value unless an effort is made to bring the church 
into touch with those who have become dissociated from it. 
In cities it will be necessary to confine the canvass to the 
particular geographical area for which the cooperating 
churches are primarily responsible. Likewise in the open 
country. In villages and towns the canvass should em¬ 
brace the whole community. 

2. The Community Survey. The community survey 
proper has a very different aim. It is a study of environ¬ 
ment, and seeks to note and classify every factor in the en¬ 
vironment which influences human well-being. 

a. Scope. (1) Physical conditions such as climate, soil, 
rainfall, housing, sanitation, water supply, community 
health, etc., are always an important part of such a study. 

(2) Since a good material foundation is indispensable 
to the life of the spirit, the inquiry will carry into the field 
of economics. Does the community depend chiefly upon 
agriculture or manufacturing? If manufacturing, under 
what conditions do the workers toil? What wages are re¬ 
ceived by different classes of workers? Number of hours 
in the working day? Women in industry? Children in 
industry? Unemployment? Welfare work? Cost of liv¬ 
ing? What proportion of the workers receive sufficient in¬ 
come to enjoy a fair standard of living? Are workers or¬ 
ganized? etc. In an agricultural community the investiga¬ 
tion will concern itself with questions of tenantry, absentee 
landlords, marketing, crop production, etc. 

(3) The survey will give careful consideration to the 
sociological structure of the community, for race, nation¬ 
ality, sex, family life, inbreeding, immigration, etc., have 
profound significance for the spiritual life. 

(4) The educational agencies will be scrutinized. Num¬ 
ber of schools? Graded? Centralized? High schools? 
Number of pupils per teacher? How many young people 
are in college? How many evening schools? libraries? 


THE CHURCH SURVEY 


239 


What per cent of the pupils finish the eighth grade? The 
high school? Are there vacation schools? Parent-teachers' 
associations? etc. 

(5) Again, it is vital to know accurately what agencies 
serve the instinct for play and recreation. How many parks 
are there and what facilities do they afford for baseball, 
football, bathing, boating, tennis, and other out-of-door 
games? How many pool-rooms? theaters? movies? dance 
halls? Where do the young people congregate? Is there a 
Y. M. C. A. ? Y. W. C. A. ? What are their social activities ? 
Do the churches and public schools make themselves social 
centers? etc. 

(6) Community morals cannot be overlooked in such 
a study. How many arrests annually by the police and 
for what offenses? Gambling? Drunkenness? Prostitu¬ 
tion? Juvenile crime and delinquency? Jail conditions? 
How are child offenders treated? etc. 

(7) And all philanthropic institutions will come in for 
investigation. What organizations assist the needy, such 
as organized charities, lodges, churches, etc.? How many 
dependent families cared for by each? Are their methods 
modern and scientific? etc. 

(8) Religious institutions will be surveyed. Number of 
churches? Membership of each? Amounts raised by each 
for current expenses? for benevolences? attitude toward 
evangelism? religious education? community service? mis¬ 
sions? Service rendered to social and recreational life of 
their own young people? of the community as a whole? 
Do the pastors give full time to their church work ? Do the 
churches cooperate with each other? Is the community 
overchurched? underchurched? etc. 

The suggestions made under the several headings are by 
no means exhaustive. The number of inquiries in each case 
could be multiplied indefinitely. They merely suggest the 
vast scope and prodigious labor involved in a comprehensive 
study of this kind. 

b. Method. (1) The first step in making a community 


240 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


survey consists in determining its scope. It may be very 
elaborate. For ordinary purposes the simpler study which 
takes account of the more important factors in the commu¬ 
nity life, and these only perhaps one at a time, is the more 
valuable. In any case the initial step involves the prepara¬ 
tion of the questions which are to be asked. The same in¬ 
quiries will seldom be appropriate for two communities. 

(2) The geographical area must be defined very accu¬ 
rately. 

(3) Who shall make itf In the open country, or in a 
rural village or town, the pastors themselves can do the 
work better than other persons. In larger towns and cities 
the survey may be made a community achievement by se¬ 
curing the cooperation of business clubs, lodges, the Board 
of Health, the Board of Education, the Woman’s Club, 
and other organizations. In this event, the survey should 
be put under the direction of an Executive Committee com¬ 
posed of representatives of the participating groups. 

(4) Assistance from the outside. In the more involved 
surveys, it is better generally to raise a fund and employ 
a trained director of social surveying to supervise the whole 
task. It may be that a near-by educational institution, such 
as an agricultural school or State university, can supply 
such a worker. To organize and instruct his assistants 
will require weeks of time, and to tabulate and interpret the 
data impressively will consume even a longer period. 

(5) Proper interpretation of the facts is quite as neces¬ 
sary as skill in detecting them. The work of interpretation 
includes map drawing, charting, and graphing so that the 
eye as well as the ear may be impressed. A single map 
should not be overloaded with facts. It is much better to 
make three maps, for example, one showing the location of 
churches, another the location of schools, and another the 
location of social service agencies, than to crowd all into 
one drawing. “Comparisons” and “averages” are devices 
which give significance to local figures. “The fact that 
there are 500 children in school means nothing unless that 


THE CHURCH SURVEY 


241 


figure is compared with the total number of children of 
school age.” “A death rate of 9.77 per thousand in Wash¬ 
ington Heights is not particularly informing unless it is 
known that the death rate in the city of New York is 13.40 
per thousand.” 

(6) After the facts have been discovered, the next ques¬ 
tion is, “What shall be done about them?” Frequently 
nothing has happened. A few years ago many American 
cities appropriated considerable sums for the study of vice 
conditions, and important findings were made. In almost 
no instance, however, were those surveys followed by in¬ 
telligent changes in public policy with reference to social 
conditions, and of late there has been much fruitless survey¬ 
ing within the church. 

Suppose that it should appear that the community is 
not provided with adequate facilities for play? Suppose 
that the school buildings are overcrowded, badly located, 
and poorly equipped ? Or that there are too many churches ? 
What change will that make in the program of the church ? 
A community survey will certainly raise embarrassing issues 
to meet which thoughtful policies and programs must be 
adopted for a period of years. Better make no survey at 
all than let it end there. 

3. The Church Survey. The third type of survey aims 
to discover an$' chart important facts about the church or¬ 
ganization itself. It too may be elaborate or simple, dealing 
with many or with single phases of church activities. It 
may concern itself with the history of the church; its 
growth or decay; the benevolences, the financial policy and 
resources, the buildings, missions, community service, evan¬ 
gelism, religious education. 

The materials for such a study are found largely in the 
records of the church and its several organizations, and may 
be reviewed by the pastor without much assistance from 
others. Fisher’s The Way to Win, pages 153-155, contains 
a suggestive list of questions for such an inquiry. 


242 THE PASTORAL OFFICE 

Books Recommended for Further Study 

Edwin L. Earp, The Rural Church Serving the Community. 

C. E. Carroll, The Community Survey in Relation to Church 
Efficiency. 

Fred B. Fisher, The Way to Win, Chapter VI. 

Margaret F. Byington, What Social Workers Should Know About 
Their Community. 

Anna B. Taft, Community Study for Country Districts. 

Warren H. Wilson, Community Study for Cities. 


SECTION III 


PASTORAL RELATIONS 



CHAPTER XXIV 


THE CALL TO THE MINISTRY 

In the preceding chapters we have considered the ideals 
and methods generally approved for making the modern 
church an effective instrument for Christianizing society. 
But the mere mastery of the technique of religious work 
will not of itself produce the successful church leader. 
Spirit, temperament, zeal, inward attitudes of soul and heart 
are the vital elements in the ministry, and will supply the 
themes for discussion in the final section of this book. 
Conspicuous among them is the “call” to the pastoral office. 1 
In the absence of this experience, one is likely to be dis¬ 
tinctly unhappy in the ministry, and will abandon it ulti¬ 
mately for more congenial employment. To interpret the 
meaning of the “call” is our aim in the present chapter. 

i. Let us begin by asking, “Is the work of the ministry 
really distinguished in this respect from that of other 
professional men?” Undoubtedly, all work may be sanc¬ 
tified by the spirit of service, and the same obligation is on 
every Christian which is on the minister to “do all as unto 
the Lord.” But this is not quite what is involved in a 
divine call—the conviction that any worthy work is God’s 
work and that the worker stands in “living connection with 
the heavenly world.” Take coal-mining, for illustration. 
There can be no doubt that it is a “basic” industry, abso¬ 
lutely necessary to human happiness. And the man who 
burrows underground to bring fuel to the surface for his 
fellow men is a most valuable servant of society, deserving 

Tt might be possible to distinguish between a call to the pas¬ 
torate and to some other form of religious work. No differentia¬ 
tion of this kind, however, is made here. The term is used in its 
most comprehensive sense, applying to all forms of ministerial 
service. 


245 



246 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


much more consideration than he usually receives. More¬ 
over, many religiously minded miners derive an inward 
satisfaction when they reflect upon the service which they 
render, and are conscious of God’s sustaining grace as they 
toil. But the effect of this work upon the workers them¬ 
selves is such that it would seem highly incongruous to 
declare that one has been divinely called to mine coal. As 
a matter of fact, most miners probably feel that they have 
been condemned to the mines by the accident of birth and 
the circumstances of their early lives. A “divine vocation” 
may be expected to enrich the mind and heart of the worker 
as coal-mining does not do. A “calling” should give such 
joy that the worker would not be engaged in other labor if 
he could! And it is difficult to think of miners feeling thus 
about their employment. All this applies to most hand¬ 
workers. We do not deny the social value or spiritual sig¬ 
nificance of manual labor. The only point we are making 
is that men usually drift or are forced into it rather than 
deliberately choose it. It may be glorified, indeed, by the 
religious imagination, and thus yield high satisfactions, but 
the most devout laborers would be slow to declare that their 
work was a divine calling. 

The distinction is not so clear in the case of professional 
workers. The successful teacher, lawyer, physician, artist, 
musician, architect, and engineer must have peculiar per¬ 
sonal fitness for their work as certainly as the minister. 
Many of them are very happy in the practice of their pro¬ 
fessions. In most cases professional work is deliberately 
adopted after other possibilities have been considered. 
Moreover, the work tends to enlarge mental horizons and 
is rewarding in rich fellowships. Finally, all the great 
professions have passed under the law of service. Finan¬ 
cial gain is not the dominant motive, as in business. In 
these respects they do not differ from the ministry. 

But the ministry is distinguished from all these in that 
its aim is confessedly spiritual. However noble may be the 
service to the physical, the intellectual, and the aesthetic 


THE CALL TO THE MINISTRY 


247 


needs of human life, religious work is more fundamental in 
that it deals with intangible values which give life its real 
meaning. This makes it impossible for the minister to know 
always how well or ill he is succeeding. But it constitutes 
the chief glory of his task. Blunderingly enough the work 
goes on, as the workers themselves confess, but where there 
is a reasonable amount of intelligence, imagination, and un¬ 
selfishness, the awkward efforts of even an incompetent 
minister are singularly sanctified to the spiritual well-being 
of a community. If it be said that other types of professional 
work produce spiritual results, we still insist that they are 
secondary, and not primary. And this holy daring which 
prompts religious workers to make that the chief object of 
all their striving which others regard as incidental, lifts the 
ministry out of the rank of professions into the dignity of a 
divine calling because its aim is divine in a sense that can¬ 
not be affirmed of other professions. 

Again, the effect of the ministry upon the minister him¬ 
self sets this work apart. Ideally, labor should always en¬ 
rich the personality of the laborer. One of the deplorable 
facts about modern industry is that men become as me¬ 
chanical as the machines which they tend. Born human 
beings, they die mere grocers, or bankers, or mechanics. 
Instead of the means to a fuller manhood, work too often 
menaces what manhood they already possess. And to this 
dwarfing of personality through the performance of simple 
processes which require no thought or imagination, must be 
added the positively immoral effect of the atmosphere of 
strife, suspicion, and mutual distrust in which employers 
and workers live. All this gives abundant reason for de¬ 
claring, with Phillips Brooks, that work is one of the 
cherubim which stand with flaming swords before the Gar¬ 
den of Eden to prevent man’s return to happiness. The 
supreme test of any labor must be, not the amount of wealth, 
but the kind of men it produces. And one is not happy 
about the human product of our industrial organization, 
whether it be the masters or the workers. It is very differ- 


248 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


ent with the professions. All react upon their members 
to enrich personality to a remarkable degree. It will be 
found, generally, that the physicians, teachers, lawyers, so¬ 
cial workers, and ministers are the persons of broadest sym¬ 
pathies in the average American community. They do not 
accumulate great wealth, as a rule, but they possess good 
private libraries and overflowing reading tables, and their 
friendships are usually superior. Furthermore, the ethical 
standards of their work lay moral responsibilities upon them 
not imposed upon others. The shock is always greater 
when a professional man breaks down at the point of good¬ 
ness than when a business man or laborer falls. 

The influence of the ministry upon those within its ranks 
is similar to that of other professions, with this difference 
—the ethical effect is very much greater. The nature of 
the work requires constant study, which stimulates the in¬ 
tellectual life. It is likewise rewarding in the opportunity 
it affords for social intercourse of the finer sort. But the 
demand which it makes upon the minister himself to live on 
the highest moral levels exceeds that of any other profes¬ 
sion. In a way, of course, careless living is a disqualifica¬ 
tion for any professional work, but for the pastor it is a 
capital offense. And no one will hold him to as strict ac¬ 
count as he holds himself. He will be aware of personal 
defects which others do not observe, and these will give him 
constant pain. More sharply than others he will feel the 
inconsistency of a moral physician becoming himself a 
source of evil contagion and a teacher of religion failing to 
exemplify in his own life the doctrine which he preaches. 
We are not thinking of his being self-consciously “an exam¬ 
ple to others,” affecting a piety which he does not feel. That 
road leads to cant, insincerity, hypocrisy—offensive to God 
and man. Rather we have in mind the passion for genuine 
and transparent goodness which must adorn his own life 
before he can successfully transmit it to others. Nor are 
we declaring that ministers always become immaculate in 
their saintliness. As a class they are subject to the same 


THE CALL TO THE MINISTRY 


249 


temptations that befall other men, and often are defeated 
in the very “citadels of their souls.” But the ethical de¬ 
mands of their work make it more difficult for them to yield, 
acting as a sharp spur, impelling them to “go on to per¬ 
fection” when otherwise they might cease their striving. 
This superior ethical influence of the ministry upon the 
minister is a divine effect and supplies another reason for 
regarding it as a sacred vocation. 

Again, most ministers testify that they entered upon their 
work because of an inward imperative which is not often 
the experience of other professional workers. The physi¬ 
cian, the teacher, the lawyer, the dentist, unite generally in 
saying that they like their work, but rarely does one go so 
far as to declare that he undertook it because of a sense of 
duty. The matter of peculiar fitness apart, he could have 
been quite as happy in some other profession as the one he 
chose. Indeed, many do engage successfully in business 
while they practice their professions. But not so, as a rule, 
with ministers. They are happy in their work, but some¬ 
thing deeper than the attractiveness of the profession drew 
them to it. With almost no dissenting voice they affirm that 
their loyalty to the best that they knew was involved in their 
choice of a life work. It was a highly moral experience in 
which they were chiefly conscious of a sense of duty. An 
authoritative “must” was heard from the voice of conscience 
—the “Thus saith the Lord” of the Old Testament prophets. 
Let it be confessed frankly that events have proven that 
some were mistaken in their interpretation of this ex¬ 
perience. But, on the other hand, experience has justified 
the conclusion which was reached in a majority of cases. 
And it is significant that an attempt to abandon the minis¬ 
try, or to engage in business as a side line, for reasons less 
noble than those for which one entered upon it in the be¬ 
ginning, results usually in great unhappiness. Religious 
work is a jealous mistress. “The Lord will have no drift¬ 
wood for his sacrifices, and no drift men for his ministry.” 

These three facts, then, justify the belief that the min - 


250 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


is try is a work apart from others—its spiritual aim, its 
ethical effect upon the minister himself, and the motive ac¬ 
tuating those who undertake it. With more warrant than 
is conferred by mere poetic license, it may be thought of as 
a “divine calling.” This doctrine should be held in great 
humbleness of mind, however, not in arrogant self-suf¬ 
ficiency. The minister will prove that his is a holy office, 
not by proclaiming the fact self-assertively from the house¬ 
top, but by showing in his words, and life, and work, the 
divine spirit of kindness, love, gentleness, forbearance, and 
meekness. 

2. We are commanded on the highest authority to test 
the movements of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of men. 3 
If these come from the Divine Father, investigation will 
only make that fact more clear. If spurious, the sooner we 
know it, the better. What, then, are the evidences of genu¬ 
ineness in a call to the ministry? They are gathered from 
various sources. 

a. The first is an idealistic attitude toward life. He who 
is more concerned with exploiting men than serving them 
unselfishly is inherently disqualified for religious work! 
He must love men deeply and feel as his very own their 
misery and blindness. 

b. No one is called into ministerial service who is not 
deeply religious in his personal life. The unseen world 
must be for him the realest of worlds, with which he holds 
commerce daily by faith and prayer. He must be very sure 
of God and have some power at least to make other men 
see God in everything. In the language of the Discipline, 
he must have ‘‘the love of God abiding in him.” His reli¬ 
gious earnestness will show itself in the conviction that the 
sickness of the world is spiritual—a matter of wrong inner 
ideals and attitudes rather than maladjustments in the social 
organization—and as such the only cure is a wholehearted 
acceptance of the gospel of Jesus in all relations. 

c. An inward drawing toward the work is essential. We 


s Phil. i. 9, io. 



THE CALL TO THE MINISTRY 


251 


should be warned, however, that the strength of the sub¬ 
jective impression is not very significant in itself. Emo¬ 
tional temperaments may describe it as overwhelming, while 
less excitable persons may feel nothing more than a strong 
inclination in a certain direction. It frequently happens 
that the most successful ministers experience this call in its 
milder forms. If one is unable to dismiss the subject from 
his thought, or finds pleasure in imagining himself en¬ 
gaged in the work that is allotted to a minister, he has as 
much mystical intimation as is accorded to most. And he 
has all that is needed, for this inclination must be cor¬ 
roborated by other evidence to make sure that it is more 
than a human preference for the office—“a hankering after 
its perquisites, the position it offers, the gains and emolu¬ 
ments it promises.” 

d. The absence of peculiar physical, mental, and social 
fitness for the work nullifies, usually, an alleged inward 
call. If one is not strong in body; or if he does not possess 
at least average intellectual ability; or if he cannot express 
himself clearly and with some degree of readiness; or if 
he does not love people, and has little ability to enlist and 
organize them under his leadership, he has a right to con¬ 
clude that he is not called to the work of the ministry. 

e. The inward call should be confirmed by the outward. 
That is to say, one’s personal inspirations should be sub¬ 
mitted to the judgment of others. Dr. Gladden most 
wisely declares, “No minister ought to undertake the work 
unless he believes he has a divine vocation; but he ought to 
submit this conviction of his to the approval of his breth¬ 
ren.” 4 The Holy Spirit reveals himself in the collective 
wisdom of the many as certainly as in the private insight of 
the individual. If one possesses the “gifts and graces” 
which qualify him for religious service, those who know 
him and love the church will have an opinion on the subject 
which deserves consideration. If their judgment does not 
sustain his, it is quite probable that he was wrong in his in- 


*Op. cit., p. 69. 



252 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


terpretation of the subjective experience which was re¬ 
garded as “a call.” 

f. The final test of a call is some measure of success in the 
actual work of the ministry . If one s efforts do not com¬ 
mand the approval of the reflective people in the congrega¬ 
tion under reasonable conditions, he has a right to conclude 
that he should serve as a layman rather than a minister. 

3. The call to the ministry ultimately resolves itself into 
a call to a particular church. This is determined in various 
ways. Under a “Congregational” polity, the local church 
issues the invitation. The “Presbyterian” ideal requires 
that the choice of the church shall be confirmed by the 
“presbytery.” In the Church of England, the “parish” has 
little voice in determining who the “incumbent” shall be, 
the right of nomination being vested in a “patron,” who is, 
in some instances, the government; in others, the bishop 
or archbishop; in yet others, a dean or chapter, but generally 
a landed proprietor. 5 In the Methodist Episcopal Church 
the matter, theoretically, rests entirely in the hands of the 
bishop. In practice, however, this officer usually seeks the 
advice of district superintendents, and invites churches and 
ministers to express their wishes fully concerning “ap¬ 
pointments.” Among the larger churches, it is becoming 
customary for the bishop to approve arrangements which 
have been entered into by churches and ministers. The right 
of the church and the minister to an opinion about estab¬ 
lishing the pastoral relation can hardly be denied, even 
under an episcopal form of government. They will be 
more seriously affected in case a mistake is made than the 
bishop can be. On the other hand, it is not at all certain 
that the average pastorate has been lengthened or the joy 
of the relationship increased by the self-assertion of min¬ 
isters and churches. 

Where large liberty is granted a church in seeking its 
pastor the initiative in establishing a new relationship should 

“Recent legislation by Parliament gives the parish more oppor¬ 
tunity to express itself than was formerly enjoyed. 



THE CALL TO THE MINISTRY 


253 


be taken by the church. The denomination generally is 
sensitive to the indelicacy of a minister actively seeking 
an ecclesiastical office, whether it be a pastorate, the epis¬ 
copacy, a general secretaryship, or an editorial position. 
Under the doctrine of a divine call to religious work, the 
normal state of the pastor’s mind should be, “I am where 
I am because God has placed me here. ... I should stay 
here until Providence makes it clear that I am needed else¬ 
where.” If conditions of health or work make a change 
seem desirable, he is at liberty to express himself in a 
general way to district superintendents and bishops, but 
not to suggest himself for particular appointments. If ap¬ 
proached by the committee of a particular church, he may 
express himself as willing to accept an invitation provided 
the bishop approves. It will be important for him to know 
whether the invitation is extended unanimously or only by 
a majority vote. He should be more interested in the spirit 
and ideals of the church than the salary which it pays. And 
he should decline to preach a “trial sermon.” Neither min¬ 
ister nor congregation are likely to be at their best under 
such an ordeal. 

The customary procedure on the part of the church seek¬ 
ing a pastor is to appoint a committee to consult, first, with 
the district superintendent and bishop, and, second, with 
other responsible persons who may suggest the names of 
available ministers. The committee should not enter into 
negotiations with anyone until it has satisfied itself concern¬ 
ing his acceptability. It is an easy matter in the Methodist 
Episcopal Church to discover what kind of work a pastor 
has done in previous charges, and this is a much safer 
criterion than the impression he may make in a single ser¬ 
mon. They should as little think of asking him to “candi¬ 
date” as he should think of consenting to do so. Having 
satisfied themselves that they are ready to extend an invi¬ 
tation if he is willing to accept, they may interview him, 
and, if he is agreed, request the bishop, through the district 
superintendent, to make the appointment. 


254 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


If there is a call to begin a pastorate, there may also be 
a call to end it. The conviction may come to the pastor 
that he has made his best contribution and to continue 
longer in the service of a particular church is unwise. 
Let him make sure, however, that he is not moved merely 
by small personal irritations, or by the desire for an in¬ 
crease in salary, or by sheer restlessness. Again the con¬ 
viction may come to the more thoughtful members of the 
church, and become so strong that they feel compelled to 
take the initiative in ending pastoral relations. There is a 
Christian way of proceeding in these matters which will be 
taken instinctively by persons of imagination and brotherly 
regard. One way not to do it is to pass complimentary 
resolutions inviting the pastor to return, and then quietly 
send a delegation to the bishop or district superintendent 
insisting that he must not come back. That is unethical 
in the highest degree. Frankness and candor, mixed with 
kindly consideration, alone are justified in handling a mat¬ 
ter so delicate. 

4. Very often the call to religious work may take the form 
of a call to some special task or field, for example, foreign 
missions, foreign-speaking work at home, industrial work 
in cities, rural church work, or religious education. The 
prevailing considerations in reaching such a decision should 
be (1) sufficient knowledge concerning the proposed service 
to make possible an intelligent opinion, (2) the possession 
of the special abilities required for effective service, and 
(3) a strong inward response to the appeal of the work 
itself. 

5. It is assumed that the call to the pastoral office is for 
life. The time may come, however, when the way may lead 
providentially into other service. It seems necessary to 
draft men continually from the pastorate for educational 
and administrative work in the denomination at large. And 
sometimes there are honorable reasons for withdrawing 
from full-time work in the ministry. For example, if it 
is impossible to support one’s family on the salary which 


THE CALL TO THE MINISTRY 


255 


the church pays, without being embarrassed continually by 
debt, one is justified in resigning to engage in secular em¬ 
ployment which will afford a living. The important thing 
in all such changes is to be certain that one is prompted by 
unselfish motives such as first led him into the ministry, 
and not chiefly by considerations of worldly ambition and 
private gain. 

6 . Having insisted that the ministry is a divine calling, let 
it be said also that it is a profession, in the sense at least 
that special training is necessary to a high degree of suc¬ 
cess. Irreparable injury has been done by misguided per¬ 
sons who have discouraged young ministers from attending 
college and theological school. The level of general culture 
is rising continually in every community, and professional 
standards must be elevated correspondingly. It is little 
short of tragic that the only professional worker who has 
made no special preparation for his work often is the minis¬ 
ter. It is said that out of every five men in the ministry 
of the Methodist Episcopal Church, only one has received 
complete training for his work; two others have completed 
the major part or all of a college course; while the remain¬ 
ing two have never attended a college or theological school. 
Anyone in doubt about the relation of training to efficiency 
in the ministry should write to Rochester (Baptist) Theo¬ 
logical Seminary, Rochester, New York, for their illuminat¬ 
ing bulletin on this subject. This training should consist 
primarily of a broad foundation of general knowledge such 
as a college course affords. Later, there should be special¬ 
ized instruction in professional subjects and methods of 
church work, such as biblical interpretation, church history, 
Christian doctrine, religious education, missions, and social 
service, together with supervised practice in preaching, con¬ 
ducting public worship, evangelism, and church administra¬ 
tion. The Conference course of study is in no sense an 
equivalent training. It is at best an unsatisfactory substi¬ 
tute devised by a church doing its work largely with un¬ 
trained men, in the hope of cultivating in them habits of 


256 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


study and intellectual tastes which will overcome in part 
the handicap imposed by insufficient preparation. 

Books Recommended for Further Study 

Matthew Simpson, Yale Lectures on Preaching, Lectures I, II. 

N. J. Burton, Yale Lectures on Preaching, pp. 31-46. 

W. Gladden, The Christian Pastor, Chapter IV. 

Charles E. Jefferson, The Minister as Prophet; Quiet Hints to 
Growing Preachers. 

James A. Hensey, The Itinerancy—Its Power and Peril. 

Ernest Clyde Wareing, Critical Hours in the Preacher’s Life . 

W. L. Sperry, The Call to the Ministry, Harvard Theological Re¬ 
view, July, 1923. 


CHAPTER XXV 


THE MINISTER’S STUDY 

Except in comparatively rare instances the minister’s 
study is a combination of library, office, and place of prayer. 
Here he retires to enrich his mind, to do the “paper work” 
necessary in administering the church organization, and to 
worship. Ideally, the office work should be cared for else¬ 
where in order that the hours of study and devotion may be 
protected from interruption. When this is not possible, the 
working day must be divided so that each phase of his task 
may receive his whole attention in its own time. 

i. The Minister as Student. The growing minister 
must be an earnest student throughout his whole life. Un¬ 
ceasing intellectual effort will be required to master the 
truth which he is to teach, and to acquire the skill to express 
it effectively. This is not a denial of the fact that God may 
communicate his wisdom immediately to men. It is only 
asserting that his revelation is more likely to come to the 
man who is honestly using his mind to discover it than to 
the intellectual loafer who regards study as superfluous. 
The race has been strangely obsessed with the idea that 
the movements of the Holy Spirit are erratic and capricious, 
despising the ordinary instruments of knowledge and em¬ 
ploying always unique and mysterious methods. This view 
identifies God with the irregular and the extraordinary, but 
not with the usual and the commonplace. As a matter of 
fact, the “natural” cannot be explained without him any 
more than the “miraculous,” and there is much to suggest 
that he will not use a miracle if a sufficiently perfect natural 
instrument is at hand by which to communicate his will. 
It is sometimes asked, “Why does God speak through cer¬ 
tain individuals and not through others?” The probable 

257 


258 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


answer is, “The primary reason why more of the Word of 
God has come to us through Isaiah and Paul than through 
other men is that the minds of Isaiah and Paul were better 
fitted to receive these sublime truths than the minds of 
other men. This fitness may have been due in part to provi¬ 
dential causes, but it must have been largely explained by 
the thoroughness with which they had prepared themselves 
for such mediumship.” 1 The pearl of great price in the 
parable was not discovered by a shiftless vagabond who 
hugged a comfortable grate-fire, but by a traveling jeweler, 
restless, eager, constantly searching for precious stones. 
The buried treasure was not uncovered by a man who never 
worked the field, but by the conscientious tenant who held 
himself to the prosaic business of plowing that soil year 
after year—until at last he had his reward. In similar 
fashion the priceless pearl, the hidden treasure of divine 
inspiration, is discovered, not by the man who neglects the 
drudgery of study, but by him who regularly and continu¬ 
ously applies himself to the hardest of intellectual labor. 
By mastering the truth which others have proclaimed about 
God, he is making his own mind and heart fit instruments 
for detecting the divine will. 

The diligence with which the great preachers of the 
past gave themselves to hard study is instructive. Jonathan 
Edwards said, “My method of study, from my first begin¬ 
ning the work of the ministry, has been very much by writ¬ 
ing; applying myself in this way to improve every impor¬ 
tant hint . . . when anything in reading, meditation, or 
conversation has been suggested to my mind that seemed 
to promise light on any weighty point; thus penning what 
appeared to me my best thoughts on innumerable subjects 
for my own benefit.” Samuel Hopkins studied fourteen 
hours a day, generally rising at four in the morning, oc¬ 
casionally as late as five in the winter. Doctor Chalmers, 
in the most active portion of his life, secured five hours 


'Gladden, op. cit., p. 87k 



THE MINISTER’S STUDY 


259 


daily for study. F. W. Robertson studied German by mak¬ 
ing written translations of the best German authors. He 
said, “I read hard, or not at all—never skimming, never 
turning aside to many inviting books; and Plato, Aristotle, 
Butler, Thucydides, Jonathan Edwards, have passed like 
the iron atoms of the blood into my mental constitution.” 
His biographer says of him: “It was his habit, when dress¬ 
ing in the morning, to commit to memory daily a certain 
number of verses of the New Testament. In this way, be¬ 
fore leaving the university, he had gone twice over the 
English version, and once and a half through the Greek. 
. . . He said, long afterward, to a friend, that, owing to 
this practice, no sooner was any Christian doctrine or duty 
mentioned in conversation, or suggested to him by what he 
was writing, than all the passages bearing on the point 
seemed to array themselves in order before him.” His idea 
of study was to have some plan, even if a poor one, which 
prevented discursiveness—in his own words, “the steady 
habit of looking forward to a distant end, unalterably work¬ 
ing on until he had attained it—the habit, in fact, of never 
beginning anything which is not to be finished.” 2 

But even if the message could be received directly through 
prayer and faith without mental toil, the problem of ex¬ 
pressing it clearly would remain. And the significance 
which this truth has for others will be determined very 
largely “by the dimensions and furniture of the mind 
through which it is communicated.” A mind well equipped 
with a good vocabulary of words, abundantly stored with 
illustrative material gathered from wide reading, and skill¬ 
ful at sifting out the irrelevant and nonessential, will be 
able to pass on this truth to others as one cannot do which 
is furnished with nothing but good intentions. No one has 
put this matter more effectively than Gladden. “Language 
is the instrument by which the greater part of the minister’s 
work is done. If he has 5 a message to deliver, it will be con- 

*See J. M. Hoppin, Pastoral Theology, pp. 164-169. Reprinted by 
permission of Funk and Wagnalls Company. 



26 o 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


veyed in the forms of human speech. The Word of God 
must reach the minds of men through the language of men. 
All revelation, all inspiration, is conditioned by this fact. 
There can be no more revelation than there is language to 
convey. ... It goes without saying that the better a man 
understands the instrument, the more familiar he is with 
its structure and its possibilities, the more perfectly he can 
convey his own conceptions to the minds of other men. . . . 
The laws which govern the inspiration of the prophet must 
be in many respects similar to those which govern the in¬ 
spiration of the artist. The artist must become familiar 
with the forms by which beauty, the beauty of which his 
art is the vehicle, finds its best expression. Long and pain¬ 
ful courses of discipline are needful in order that he may 
gain the power of utterance. ... We have been told that 
poets are born, not made; but if this implies that all their 
powers are the gift of nature, and that none of them is due 
to training, it is far from the truth. The poet, for his part, 
was first compelled to learn the language in which he writes; 
a great deal of patient training was expended on him by his 
mother, and his nurse, and all the household, before he was 
able to articulate the simplest words of our common speech. 
Later he was led by many tutors through the mysteries of 
the alphabet and spelling-book and grammar; there is no 
royal road even for poets through these mysteries; the 
knowledge must be gained by toil. After the rudiments of 
the language have been mastered, there is a great deal more 
for him to learn of the idioms and forms by means of which 
the spirit of beauty finds expression in language. And 
after the technique of his art, so to speak, has thus been 
acquired, if he is to be an interpreter of nature and life— 
and this, as we are taught, is the poet’s function—there will 
be room for long years of patient study of nature and of 
life before he will be able to interpret them to any clear 
purpose. ... Of every kind of art this principle holds true. 
The musician must prepare himself by the same kind of 
discipline. There is a certain manual facility which can be 


THE MINISTER’S STUDY 


261 

gained only by the most patient toil. . . . The principle is 
not different in the case of the minister, even when we are 
thinking of his prophetic function. Prophecy is the divine 
word spoken by the human voice, and the voice must be 
trained for speaking. Inspiration is not caprice; it must 
follow the law which conditions all divine intervention in 
behalf of men. . . . The grace of God is not given to relieve 
us from effort or to discharge us from responsibility, but to 
supplement our powers and to stimulate our activity/’ 3 
In mastering language it is impossible to exaggerate the 
importance of writing. One who always speaks extempo¬ 
raneously, never undertaking the drudgery of painstaking 
literary composition, will not make language a perfect in¬ 
strument for expressing thought. Rather he will incline 
to wordiness which may conceal thought when it is not a 
substitute for it. The church suffers greatly from this 
“vice of extemporaneity.” Words are merely symbols of 
ideas. Many men create the impression when they speak 
that there is some especial virtue in using as many symbols 
as possible. But if one sign by the roadside points the way 
clearly, why should the landscape be cluttered up with ten 
others? The first characteristic of good literary style is 
clearness, and in saying a thing clearly one will use the 
fewest possible words, selecting them with the utmost care 
so that each will convey the precise shade of meaning which 
the speaker intended. The extemporizer in public address 
does not have time to choose his words with discrimination. 
The demand for continuous movement forbids pausing to 
search for just the term he wishes. One who halts thus 
wearies an audience quickly. He must take the word near¬ 
est at hand, whether it is the right one or not, and unless 
he has expressed previously that thought in writing, search¬ 
ing the dictionary through for better terms than those 
which first offered their services, the right one will seldom 


’Reprinted by permission of Charles Scribner’s Sons. Gladden, 
op. cii., pp. 86-89. Italics are the author’s. 



262 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


be available. The one within reach will say more, or less, 
than he wished to say, and it will be necessary to seize an¬ 
other, and another, to soften or sharpen the meaning of the 
first; whereas if he had written carefully in the study when 
he had time to wait until the word he needed came to mind, 
that very word would have been found lying on the surface 
of his mind when he called for it in extemporaneous address. 
And this applies to figures of speech and illustrations as 
certainly as to words. The “vivid metaphors,” “the felici¬ 
tous phrase,” “the vital analogy” are seldom the product of 
sudden inspiration but, rather, the handiwork of the patient 
craftsman who wrought them out carefully on paper before 
he used them in public speech. 

Thus the relation between writing and concise, impressive 
public utterance is that of cause and effect. There is no 
easier way to enrich one’s speech. The minister should 
write completely at least one sermon each week for the 
first ten years of his ministerial life. He need not, he should 
not often, take the manuscript into the pulpit. The writ¬ 
ing, nevertheless, will affect profoundly his expression. 
As aids in enlarging his vocabulary he should read the best 
literature, noting carefully the manner in which others 
declare themselves. New words, as well as new ideas, 
should attract him, and he should keep a good dictionary at 
hand to define accurately each unfamiliar term. To make 
them his own, he should learn to use these new words ac¬ 
curately as rapidly as he acquires them. They will seem 
awkward at first, but after two or three trials they become 
a part of his own mental equipment so that he employs them 
almost unconsciously. A new word a day added thus to 
one’s vocabulary will enhance greatly his power of speech in 
a single year. The study of synonyms is important too in 
the enrichment of utterance. Ideas must be repeated fre¬ 
quently, but they should be clothed in new words each time 
they appear, to avoid a sense of monotony. The larger dic¬ 
tionaries give the equivalent terms of every important word. 
A good thesaurus or book of synonyms and antonyms 


THE MINISTER’S STUDY 263 

should be found on every pastor’s study table, and show 
evidence of frequent consultation. 

The minister’s reading should be determined by the na¬ 
ture of his work. He is preeminently a teacher of the Chris¬ 
tian religion and his chief studies should ever have to do 
with his professional interests. In a general way it may be 
said that he will always be digging into the subjects to which 
he was introduced by the theological school or the Confer¬ 
ence course of study. Four or five hours of every working 
day should be spent in this kind of toil. From four to six 
hours will yet remain which can be devoted to correspond¬ 
ence, administration, and pastoral visiting. 

This implies that he should have access to books, many 
of which must be purchased. In this way he will gradually 
assemble a professional library. The limited financial re¬ 
sources of most pastors make it imperative that books 
should be selected with the greatest care. Few can afford 
to spend more than two hundred dollars a year on their 
libraries. Many are unable to appropriate more than sev¬ 
enty-five dollars annually for this item. But none can 
afford to spend less. If need be, the minister may do with¬ 
out the clothes he might wish, and reduce his diet to the 
simplest articles of food, but he must buy nourishment for 
his mind whatever physical deprivation is suffered. 

The quality of a private library is not necessarily deter¬ 
mined by its size. Some ministers’ shelves are heavily loaded 
with worthless volumes which cost much money. Others 
purchase comparatively few books, but always of the finest 
type. A small library of choice books which can be studied 
profitably again and again is much better than a larger col¬ 
lection of inferior volumes which may be read swiftly and 
then forgotten. Generally speaking, the man of limited 
income should not purchase sets of theological books. 
While there are notable exceptions (for example, religious 
encyclopedias), these are made to sell rather than to inform 
the mind. The minister does well to buy single volumes, 
which should be distributed among all the major depart- 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


2f 4 

ments of theological knowledge—(i) Biblical Interpreta¬ 
tion, (2) Christian Doctrine and Philosophy of Religion, 
(3) Church History, (4) Religious Education, (5) Mis¬ 
sions, (6) Social Ethics, and (7) Practical Theology. It 
is unsafe in one’s early ministry to buy new books without 
advice. Seek the judgment of the best-informed men in 
the Conference, and ask any theological teacher in the 
church to recommend authors and titles. Do not buy a book 
that may be exhausted at a single reading. 

Since a private library is always an expression of indi¬ 
vidual tastes, it is impossible for one to prescribe for an¬ 
other the contents of his reading shelves. A studious elderly 
minister will see in his library the record of his varying in¬ 
tellectual interests across a period of years. At one time he 
was fascinated by philosophy and filled a shelf with treatises 
on that subject. At another he was enthusiastic over the 
expansion of the church and assembled twenty-five or thirty 
volumes of church history and religious biography. At still 
another he was absorbed in varying problems of biblical 
interpretation—the prophets, the life and teachings of 
Jesus, the parables, the miracles, or the life of Saint Paul—• 
and his volumes on those subjects will remind him of that 
period. Thus one’s library becomes a kind of autobiography 
of the intellect. These special interests, however, should 
all rest on a broad foundation of general knowledge, and it 
is in order to make certain suggestions about fundamental 
volumes which should be in every minister’s library, with¬ 
out in the least abridging the right of the individual to his 
own special enthusiasms. 

Because he is primarily a teacher of the Bible this book 
must be the object of his continuous study. He will brood 
over it, first, to enrich his own life, and, second, for its 
message concerning the spirit, confident that this record of 
God’s dealing with the race in other years will be supremely 
instructive to men to-day as they seek a way to life and 
peace. But the Bible does not “wear its heart on its sleeve.” 
It is not easy to understand. What we get from it will de- 


THE MINISTER’S STUDY 


265 


pend largely on what we bring to it in the way of principles 
of interpretation. The first books, then, to be purchased 
by the young minister as a nucleus for the biblical section 
of his library should be a few volumes which treat in a sim¬ 
ple and clear way the subjects of biblical revelation, inspira¬ 
tion, and authority. J. Paterson Smyth’s How God Inspired 
the Bible, and The Making of the Bible; McConnell’s Re¬ 
ligious Certainty and Understanding the Scriptures; Wil¬ 
liam Newton Clarke’s Sixty Years With the Bible; Eiselen’s 
Christian View of the Old Testament; Dods’ The Bible — 
Its Origin and Nature; A. S. Peake’s The Nature of Scrip¬ 
ture; James Orr’s Revelation and Inspiration —these sug¬ 
gest the type of work we have in mind. Later, technical 
treatises may be added, but these more elementary volumes 
will suffice- in the beginning. Moreover, there can be no 
proper understanding of biblical literature without a knowl¬ 
edge of the religious, political, and social background of 
every book; and the next most important volumes in this 
section will be one or two good “Introductions” such as 
Driver’s or MacFayden’s Introduction to the Literature of 
the Old Testament, and Moffatt’s or Peake’s Introduction 
to the Literature of the New Testament, together with 
Hastings’ Bible Dictionary (five large volumes) and Charles 
Foster Kent’s Historical Bible (six small volumes). After 
these general reference works have been installed one may 
purchase “commentaries” and “expositions” of particular 
parts of the Bible. At last one may secure a good one- 
volume commentary on the whole Bible (Peake’s or Dum- 
melow’s), and there are excellent interpretive translations 
of the New Testament which have more value than some 
commentaries, for example, Moffatt’s and Weymouth’s. 
For the most part, however, commentaries come in great 
sets, a volume, in some instances two, devoted to each 
book in the Scriptures. Among the more distinguished of 
these in recent years are the “Century,” “Cambridge,” and 
the “Expositor’s” Bibles; and the “Westminster” and “In¬ 
ternational Critical” commentaries. They are very expen- 


266 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


sive, and the several volumes in any set are of unequal 
worth. On the whole, it is generally better to select single 
volumes from all these sets as one needs them than to make 
a large investment in books, some of which one may not use 
for years. As suggested above, any minister should feel 
at liberty to seek the advice of any theological professor in 
the church, by correspondence if not by personal interview, 
in selecting the worth-while books. In addition to the com¬ 
mentaries there are numberless individual studies on special 
themes which are rich in expository material. 

It is well to follow the same method in building intelli¬ 
gently the remaining departments of one’s library—one or 
more comprehensive works which outline the whole field, 
supplemented by special volumes on particular aspects or 
periods of the general subject. The basis of the doctrinal 
section should be two or three standard treatises on Chris¬ 
tian Theology such as Sheldon’s System of Christian Doc¬ 
trine, Clarke’s Outline of Christian Theology and W. A. 
Brown’s Christian Theology in Outline, together with a few 
reliable volumes on the philosophical ground of faith, for 
example, Strickland’s Foundations of Christian Belief, or 
Foundations, by Seven Oxford Men. A knowledge of the 
manner in which Christian teaching has developed through¬ 
out the history of the church is important to a proper under¬ 
standing of that teaching, and every minister should possess 
an excellent work on the history of doctrine, such as Fisher’s 
or Sheldon’s. 

Throughout one’s whole ministry he will add to this sec¬ 
tion single volumes on special doctrines, having respect, 
first, for the great beliefs that all bodies of Christians hold in 
common, and afterward for the doctrines of religious ex¬ 
perience in which Methodists have been especially inter¬ 
ested. The following titles will illustrate what we have in 
mind: Knudson’s Religious Teaching of the Old Testament; 
Sheldon’s or Stevens’ New Testament Theology; Streeter 
and others, Immortality, Prayer, and The Spirit; Bowne, 
The Divine Immanence, Studies in Christianity; Jefferson, 


THE MINISTER’S STUDY 


267 


Things Fundamental; Mackintosh, The Person and Work 
of Jesus; McConnell, Essentials of Methodism, and Diviner 
Immanence. 

In the department of church history, the introductory 
work should sketch in outline the whole story of the ex¬ 
pansion of Christianity. This is done well in a single vol¬ 
ume by Williston Walker. If a work of several volumes 
is desired, buy Sheldon’s History of the Christian Church. 
Later add volumes on particular periods, and biographies of 
great churchmen in all periods. After these a volume on the 
Protestant denominations and a good history of Methodism 
and the Methodist Episcopal Church would complete the 
section. 

The fundamental volumes in the department of religious 
education will deal with the psychology of religious experi¬ 
ence among children and adults. Next should come vol¬ 
umes on principles, ideals, and methods of teaching religion. 
And finally there should be several volumes on the organ¬ 
ization and administration of church schools. The reader 
is referred to the books recommended for study at the close 
of the chapter on religious education (XV). 

In developing the section on Missions, there should be, 
first, two or three volumes on the great ethnic faiths of the 
non-Christian world such as Soper’s Religions of Mankind, 
or Hopkins’, Menzies’, or G. F. Moore’s History of Re¬ 
ligions. After these, historical volumes treating of par¬ 
ticular mission fields, and biographies of great missionary 
leaders should be added, together with a number of texts 
expounding missionary ideals for the mission fields, and 
methods of missionary education that may be adopted in 
the local church. 

The department of Social Ethics will be in many ways 
the most important, yet the most difficult to develop. The 
basis should be a few reliable volumes on social organiza¬ 
tion, interpreting the mutual relations of the individual and 
society, and the significance of economics for both; next, 
there should be several volumes setting forth the principles 


268 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


and methods of the more significant social movements, such 
as socialism, trade-unionism, syndicalism; and lastly, there 
should be at least a half dozen of the great statements of 
the ethical ideal of Jesus for social relationships. The 
reader is referred to the books recommended for further 
study at the conclusion of Chapter XVII. 

The section on Practical Theology should contain a great 
variety of books having to do with the technique of church 
work. Some of the great expositions of the art of preach¬ 
ing made annually for a long period by the Yale lecturers 
and the great teachers of homiletics should be secured. At 
least one new volume of this sort should be read earnestly 
each year to keep one’s ideals untarnished. There should 
be a good collection of the best sermons by preachers living 
and dead, not for the sake of the material they contain but 
for the standard they set in the matter of literary form; 
also a few works on hymnology, several expositions of the 
ideals and methods of public worship, devotional volumes 
for the spiritual enrichment of the preacher’s own life, and 
many volumes on church methods and administration. 
(See books recommended in Sections I and II.) 

The morning hours of each day should be dedicated sa¬ 
credly to devotions and professional study. There will be 
another hour or two, generally in the evening, besides va¬ 
cation periods, which may be utilized in reading general 
literature and periodicals. Here one may follow his own 
taste. History, biography, science, essays, fiction, poetry, 
all have peculiar values for the preacher, and in the course 
of a year he should read them all. History, biography, and 
science, being descriptions of life, will supply an abundance 
of the best illustrative material. Essays will suggest themes 
for sermons. Fiction and poetry will be recreative and at 
the same time cultivate the power of imagination without 
which the minister cannot attain to excellence in anything. 
Upon his reading table should be found the official weekly 
of his denomination, a digest of current events and news, 
religious periodicals like The Christian Century, the Meth- 


THE MINISTER’S STUDY 


269 


odist Review, and The Journal of Religion, together with 
at least one great magazine of general literature such as 
The Atlantic Monthly, The Yale Review, Harper’s, or 
Scribner’s. 

One should learn the art of reading rapidly the lighter 
kinds of prose, both general and theological. There is in 
every well-written paragraph a single sentence, sometimes a 
single phrase, which summarizes the whole, and good read¬ 
ers know how, at a glance, to fasten upon these central 
words. To mark them with pencil makes it possible to re¬ 
view quickly the contents of the chapter or book with little 
effort. 

The only way to conserve the results of one’s reading is 
to make notes. The most interesting information, the 
most impressive illustrations, and the most suggestive in¬ 
terpretations will inevitably escape unless they are rendered 
permanent by writing. After Phillips Brooks’ death his 
biographer found many notebooks filled with jottings as he 
had read and outlines of sermons as they had first come 
to him—the germs of his greatest discourses. And prac¬ 
tically every successful minister reads with a pencil in his 
hand. It is possible, however, to keep one’s notes in such 
form that they are of little value. The bound notebook 
and scrapbook “keep” things too literally. It is necessary 
to read every page of every book to find what one wants. 
Notes and clippings must be indexed in some practical and 
simple manner to be useful. 

The following method is employed by one of the most 
successful Methodist pastors, with the result that all the 
data he has collected concerning any subject through his 
whole ministry is available immediately for use: 

(1) All books in his library are numbered and arranged 
on his shelves in consecutive order. 

(2) He has clipped interesting articles on every conceiv¬ 
able subject. These are numbered consecutively from 1 to 
5,000 as they have accumulated, without any reference to 
subject, and are filed in folders containing fifty clippings 


270 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


each; for example, Folder No. 1 holds the clippings num¬ 
bered from 1 to 49; No. 2, from 50 to 99; No. 3, from 100 
to 149; etc. 

(3) His personal jottings have been made on separate 
sheets of note paper and are filed separately in the same 
manner as his clippings. 

(4) His sermons are preserved in strong manila en¬ 
velopes on each of which appears a number, the subject of 
the sermon, when, and where preached. 

(5) All this material is indexed carefully in a card in¬ 
dex under fewer than one hundred topics arranged alpha¬ 
betically. He began with a much smaller number and de¬ 
veloped additional topics as there was need. The follow¬ 
ing will suggest the character of the groupings: Assur¬ 
ance, Atonement, Authority, Bible, Church, Education, 
Faith, God, Holy Spirit, Industry, Inspiration, Jesus Christ, 
Methodists, Missions, Politics, Prayer, Press, Recreation, 
Regeneration, Social Movements, Sunday School, Tem¬ 
perance, Texts and Subjects. As he comes upon any im¬ 
pressive fact or suggestion in his reading he makes note of 
it under its appropriate topic in his index. 

Under each heading there would be dozens of cards like 
the following on “Prayer”: 


Meaning of Prayer. B 248-43 

Prayer and Daily Life. C 16-884 

Prayer in the Life of Jesus. S 127 

Missions and Prayer. B 274-123 

Illustration . N 39^1962 


These symbols tell him that in Book No. 248 in his library, 
page 43, there is a chapter on the “Meaning of Prayer,” 
and in Book No. 274, page 123, another phase of the subject 
is discussed. He has also a clipping in Folder 16, No. 884. 
Once he preached on “Prayer in the Life of Jesus,” Sermon 
127; and in his Note-file, Folder 39, Note 1962, he once 
recorded a valuable illustration. He has a score of other 
cards on this same general subject, containing material 







THE MINISTER’S STUDY 


271 

enough for a dozen sermons on every phase of the subject 
and all within reach. 

2. The Minister’s Office. The minister’s office work 
should be cared for outside of the morning hours devoted 
to study. If he is so fortunate as to have a good secretary, 
this work will seldom need more than thirty minutes per¬ 
sonal attention each day from him. Comparatively few 
pastors, however, have such assistance and must be their 
own clerks. If this work requires more than one and a half 
hours per day on the average, he is justified in asking the 
official board to make an appropriation for stenographic 
help, for the pastor’s time is too valuable to spend a large 
amount of it keeping records and running a typewriter 
which some one else can do better for fifty cents or less an 
hour. The best available time for office work probably is 
in the early afternoon just after lunch and before it is wise 
to begin his afternoon calling. 

3. The Minister’s Devotional Life. There is nothing 
more important for the pastor than the culture of his own 
spiritual life. His energies, constantly being drained, must, 
as constantly, be replenished. Happily his intellectual toil 
and pastoral visitation among the people of the community 
will often refresh his spirit if his attitude in them be prayer¬ 
ful. For, as Doctor Fairbairn says, “It may be laid down 
as a general principle that the whole of a minister’s labors 
should be intermingled with meditation and prayer. He 
should never be simply a man of learning and study, for this 
itself may become a snare to him; it may even serve to 
stand between his soul and God, and nurse a spirit of world¬ 
liness in one of its most refined and subtle forms.” 4 But 
in addition he must engage regularly in such special private 
exercises as are designed to make him conscious of the pres¬ 
ence and peace and power of God in his own heart. The 
first of these is the meditative reading of the more devo¬ 
tional and liturgical parts of the Bible. The great hymns 


‘Quoted by Gladden, op. cit., p. 105. 



272 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


of the church, also, read thoughtfully and memorized, have 
power to nourish the spirit. Furthermore, the reading of 
prayers and religious poetry will help induce the mood of 
worship in which, finally, the soul of the man himself comes 
to self-expression and reaches out to lay hold of God at first 
hand. He who is not fully aware of the necessity for such 
communion is not fit to preach the gospel. 

Books Recommended for Further Study 

Washington Gladden, The Christian Pastor, Chapter V. 

Frank W. Gunsaulus, The Minister and the Spiritual Life. 

P. T. Forsyth, Positive Preaching and the Modern Mind, Chap¬ 
ter V. 

Evelyn Underhill, Practical Mysticism. 


CHAPTER XXVI 


PASTORAL VISITING 

To many pastors the most distasteful phase of their work 
is visiting from house to house. This antipathy expresses 
itself often in mere neglect; but occasionally, in a frank be¬ 
littling of the task. It is said, “My business is not ringing 
door bells!” or, “I do my work with my head, not my feet!” 
or, “I am a shepherd, not a sheep-dog.” Quite naturally 
attempts are made to justify this feeling on rational 
grounds. “Let the people send for me as they do the physi¬ 
cian when they desire my services”; or, “A minister invites 
serious criticism by visiting the women when their hus¬ 
bands are not at home”; or, “Pastoral calling is unnecessary 
in the highly organized church of to-day”—these and other 
reasons are urged as an excuse for visiting only the sick 
and the troubled. 

The fundamental difficulty here arises from a misun¬ 
derstanding of the purpose and method of the pastoral call. 
If one contemplates the trying exercise described by Dr. 
William M. Taylor, a distinguished Congregational min¬ 
ister in New York in the latter part of the nineteenth cen¬ 
tury, it is better that he leave it undone. “I was first set¬ 
tled,” he says, “over a church of about one hundred and 
eighty members, many of whom resided in the village in 
which the place of worship was situated, but a considerable 
number of whom were farmers scattered over an area of 
about six miles in length by about two in breadth. I made 
my visits systematically, week by week, taking the parish in 
manageable districts. At first I was accompanied on each 
occasion by an elder. It was expected that I should ask a 
few questions of the children, assemble the members of the 
household, give a formal address, and, then conclude with 

2/3 


274 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


prayer. The presence of the ‘lay brother’ was a great em¬ 
barrassment. I supposed that because he was with me I 
should have a new address in every house, and should have 
a prayer in every instance perfectly distinct from any which 
I had formerly offered. ... So I went on from house to 
house, making a new address in each until, when it was 
toward evening, and I had walked perhaps five or six miles 
and made ten or twelve addresses, I was more dead than 
alive. You cannot wonder that, in these circumstances, 
pastoral visitation became the bete noir of my life, and I 
positively hated it. Thus prosecuted, it was simply and only 
drudgery, and, so far as I know, was not productive of 
any good result.” 1 This kind of visiting implies an aris¬ 
tocratic view of the minister’s relation to the members of his 
church. Calling is an official function, a kind of spiritual 
inspection tour in which he formally peeps into their souls 
to see that they are swept and garnished. And after the 
manner of official affairs, the etiquette of the occasion is 
prescribed in great detail. This solemn farce gave the pas¬ 
tor no real knowledge of his people, nor did it permit them 
to derive any benefit from his presence, for an atmosphere 
of unreality wrapped both him and them about. 

But suppose that he had been actuated by the democratic 
motive of friendship, going forth to his calling, not because 
custom and tradition prescribed it, but because he sincerely 
desired to visit with old friends and to make new ones 
among young and old alike. And suppose, too, that he, in 
genuine friendliness, had come informally instead of for¬ 
mally, upsetting the routine of family life as little as pos¬ 
sible, adjusting himself to the mood and circumstances in 
every home; praying here because it was perfectly natural 
to do so; omitting the prayer and even religious conversa¬ 
tion there because it would have been an embarrassment to 
everyone; staying an hour in one place, and only five min¬ 
utes in another, for precisely the same reason—that it was 

Reprinted by permission of Charles Scribner’s Sons. Quoted by 
Gladden, op. cit., p. I97f. 



PASTORAL VISITING 


275 


the wise and judicious thing for a friend to do. On this 
view of the matter pastoral visiting becomes a great ad¬ 
venture with the prospect ahead of endless variety—a fas¬ 
cinating game, the object of which is to secure the good will 
of as many different persons as there are members of his 
constituency and show himself an equally good friend to 
all. If any object that “social calling” of this sort is not 
religious, it is well to remember that one cannot win people 
to Christ until he has first won them to himself. More¬ 
over, we have no right to regard the social call as neces¬ 
sarily lacking in religious value. The religious motive does 
not express itself exclusively in formal devotional exercises. 
The call which promotes unselfish fellowship, deepens hu¬ 
man sympathy, and increases the sense of brotherhood is as 
certainly religious as one which definitely concerns itself 
with religious subjects. Bishop Quayle gives a valuable 
hint to the pastor when he remarks, “That every call a pas¬ 
tor makes should be of the revival order is simply a piece 
of grievous misconception.” 

Again, pastoral visiting has no terrors for the minister 
who relates it clearly in his thought to his preaching. All 
sermonic material is not gathered from books. Much of 
it comes directly from life. We have seen that, according 
to the Protestant theory of worship, the minister acts as the 
representative of the congregation, giving expression to 
their collective thought and striving. This is true of the 
sermon as well as of the prayers. But how can he know 
what the people are thinking if he refuses to mingle with 
them under circumstances which lead them to express them¬ 
selves freely? We do not mean to suggest that he should 
show servile regard for any individual’s opinion, or that he 
should fear to speak his mind when he differs honestly from 
others. The hope of lifting the congregation to higher 
levels of thinking and feeling and living rests largely upon 
the fact that the minister’s thinking shall not always con¬ 
form to that of others. But we read that “the spirit of a 
man is the candle of the Lord”; that is, God reveals him- 


276 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


self through human beings. We are likely to find the 
beautiful, the courageous, the heroic, the virtuous among 
simple persons as well as among the most learned. And 
how shall we receive the inspiration of their lives if we hold 
ourselves aloof from them? Pastoral visiting is highly 
accredited as a method of gathering homiletical materials, 
of acquiring the truth the congregation may have for the 
minister. 

Yet another conception of ministerial calling will con¬ 
vert it from an unpleasant duty into a high privilege. The 
auricular confession of the Roman Church rests upon a 
sound psychological principle—the demand of the human 
spirit in moments of worry, excitement, and remorse, for 
an opportunity to unburden itself. It seeks an ear into 
which it may pour its feelings. Evangelical Protestantism, 
for good cause, rejects the Catholic method of providing 
this ear, and finds in pastoral visiting a better device to 
serve the same end. This is in Bishop McConnell's mind 
when he suggests that, in visiting the people in their homes, 
the pastor shall seek, not so much to become a good talker, 
as a good listener. To give sympathetic heed to what others 
feel inclined to say to us, though it may seem trivial and 
commonplace; to direct conversation without forcing con¬ 
fidences, so that men and women and children may talk 
frankly about what concerns them most; to be patient while 
a nervous, perplexed, annoyed soul eagerly lays its fears 
and hopes before us—is to render, often, the greatest pos¬ 
sible service. It may be that a word of wise counsel can be 
given, or that relief may be afforded through prayer. But 
the very act itself of discharging the load of pent-up emo¬ 
tion loosens the tension and relaxes the strain so that the 
weary soul “feels better," though the outward situation 
may remain just as it was. 

“If a pastor shows himself willing to listen, and can listen 
without fidgeting in a hurry to get to the next call on his 
list, he will be astonished to see how thoroughly people will 
open to him the depths of their lives, and how often they 


PASTORAL VISITING 


277 


will give him a message which is a genuine voice of hu¬ 
manity. A successful pastor once told me of the following 
experience: A member of his church suddenly met a terri¬ 
ble grief. For days the stricken man sat almost in silence, 
but when my friend called on him he was moved to talk by 
the rare sympathy of a skilled physician of souls, for my 
friend possessed such rare sympathy. The mourner talked 
for one hour, for two, for three, and found his way toward 
the light as he himself talked. For the rest of his life he 
held in grateful honor the memory of the pastor who lis¬ 
tened while he talked. Now, what the mourner gained as 
he thus thought aloud toward the light was not less than 
the pastor learned. The pastor heard not just the man 
talking; he heard the voice of stricken humanity and a note 
from that voice sounded thereafter from his pulpit. One 
reason for encouraging people ‘to talk themselves clear out’ 
is that in the experiences which are most peculiarly our own 
we may find ourselves to be most like other people. Who 
of us has not had thoughts and feelings which have seemed 
so peculiarly his own that he has been afraid to mention 
them to others for fear of being misunderstood and per¬ 
haps laughed at? Yet who of us has not had the ex¬ 
perience of discovering that such thoughts or feelings when 
actually expressed have been those that other people have 
seemed to understand best? Many of these most intimate 
experiences are most catholic in their sweep. The man who 
knows these peculiarly personal experiences is able to preach 
in widely human terms. Moreover, apart from all such 
intimacies, the preacher who, with a consecrated desire to 
serve, mingles most closely with his fellows is the one who 
can most genuinely utter the voice which we call the voice 
of humanity.” 2 

Finally, it accords with the social view of the minister's 
relation to the church to insist that in his pastoral visiting 
he acts as the representative of the whole congregation. 


F. J. McConnell, The Preacher and the People, pp. 90-92. 



278 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


He is the voice through which all the members speak to 
each. 

These considerations make pastoral visiting an all-im¬ 
portant part of the minister’s work. Indeed, they justify 
Vinet in his statement that willingness to visit from house 
to house is the final test of a call to the ministry. “Public 
speaking is comparatively easy and agreeable; we can only 
be sure of our vocation to the ministry when we feel drawn 
and impelled to exercise the duties of the care of souls.” 
It would greatly simplify matters if a manual could be 
prepared, such as some have pleaded for 3 containing “ex¬ 
amples and rules for the examination of the burdened con¬ 
science governing the wants of souls seeking guidance and 
help, and the ways for meeting them sanctioned by God’s 
Word, the church’s discipline, and the Christian experience 
of all the past.” But the technique of pastoral oversight 
cannot be thus codified. Imagination, insight, and sensi¬ 
tiveness to moods and conditions are indispensable. With¬ 
out these, rules are ineffective. With them, rules are not 
needed. If the pastor is not the kind of person who does 
the right thing almost instinctively and intuitively, he is 
not likely to do it because it is commanded; or if he should 
go through the prescribed actions, it would be in a spirit 
that would make them ridiculous. Nevertheless, a few gen¬ 
eral suggestions may be helpful in dealing with certain types 
of calls. 

1. General Calling. By this we mean the regular and 
systematic visitation of every family in the membership and 
constituency of the church. The pastor may have assist¬ 
ance in this work, but he himself can never be excused from 
participating in it, however large his congregation or how¬ 
ever numerous his helpers. No one has a right to regard 
himself as a good shepherd who does not plan to visit per¬ 
sonally every family at least once a year. When F. B. 
Meyer, S. Parkes Cadman, Charles Reynolds Brown, and 

8 See Bishop A. N. Littlejohn, in The Christian Ministry at the 
Close of the Nineteenth Century , p. 322. 



PASTORAL VISITING 


279 


Bishop McConnell never passed a year as pastors without 
making at least a thousand calls (Bishop Quayle always 
visited every family once a quarter), others may indulge no 
hope of pardon for neglecting this work. 

The busiest pastors have only to plan intelligently and 
conscientiously for this visiting to get into every home regu¬ 
larly each year. Let them divide the total number of calls 
which should be made annually by fifty-two to discover 
how much work must be done each week, and then see to it 
that as early in the week as possible the appropriate number 
of visits is made. If one were to spend but three hours a 
day, five days a week in visiting the people, he could make 
fifteen hundred calls in a year, allowing a half hour for 
each visit. In few churches will it be necessary to make a 
larger number, and most churches will demand less. This 
will leave four or five hours daily for study, and two more 
for correspondence and administration, provided the min¬ 
ister is willing to work nine or ten hours each day—and 
he should be ashamed to work less. 

a. “What is the purpose of such calling?” First, the 
establishment of friendly relations between the minister and 
every member of every family. These relations spring up 
only as the result of careful cultivation. The diligent pas¬ 
tor will carry with him constantly a visiting list containing 
not only the names of the heads of the family but of every 
child and other person in each home, and when he calls, 
will inquire thoughtfully concerning each by name. He 
will keep a memorandum of pertinent facts about each in¬ 
dividual. One of the great pastors of American Method¬ 
ism twenty-five years ago was the Rev. Henry A. Buchtel, 
D.D., who is known to the church now as chancellor emer¬ 
itus of the University of Denver and former governor of 
Colorado. On his first visit in a home he was accustomed 
to inquire carefully for the names and birthdays of all 
young people in the family. The occasion for this ap¬ 
peared later when the children on every successive natal 
day received from their pastor letters written in his own 


28 o 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


hand, and never two alike. Who could resist such over¬ 
tures of friendliness? To recall that on your last visit the 
father was ill, to remember that James is interested in col¬ 
lecting stamps, and to send your regards by her mother to 
Mary, who is at college, may be small matters, but they do 
much to bind people to you. And whatever will do that 
is very important. 

The second object of this general calling is to discover 
any who may be troubled, disaffected, or indifferent, and to 
render such individual aid as lies in one’s power. 

Third, this kind of calling binds the church constituency 
into a single spiritual unity. Like a human shuttle-cock 
the pastor moves back and forth through the community, 
carrying the same spirit and the same ideals into all homes, 
counseling, sympathizing, admonishing, rebuking, encour¬ 
aging as each case may demand, but all to the same end. 
Nothing could be more valuable from the standpoint of 
church organization. Commercial and industrial corpora¬ 
tions often pay welfare workers large salaries to do just 
this among their employees. 

Finally, it should be said that in this persistent work of 
visiting the pastor keeps his parish maps up to date. He 
constantly re-surveys the field, noting new facts and faces 
in the community, changes of residence, and the like. 

b. “What do you do when you calif” Chiefly, carry a 
spirit of buoyant faith and hearty cheer into the homes of 
the community. A sanctified imagination (common sense) 
will suggest the particular things which should be done. 
These will vary with the personality of the pastor and with 
the conditions which he finds. If he arrives inopportunely, 
say in the midst of housecleaning, or just as his hosts are 
preparing to go out, or when other company is present, 
he will make everyone happy by wishing all “good day” 
and leaving in a moment or two. Let him not be deceived 
by assurances that he must stay. A courteous mistress will 
always conceal, if possible, any embarrassment which a 
guest unwittingly may cause. Match her courtesy with an- 


PASTORAL VISITING 


281 

other equally fine and refuse to interfere further with her 
plans, which are important, at least to her. “The getting 
away is quite as much of an art as coming,” says our wise 
Bishop Quayle. “Many times preachers are so engrossed 
with their pastoral concerns that they do not get at the 
magnitude of the concerns of others.” 4 

On the other hand, circumstances may justify the pastor 
in lingering long to talk. Should the home be one in which 
dwells a lonely soul who is largely cut off from religious 
and social fellowship, and upon whose hands time hangs 
heavily, stay as long as you choose, talking about the life 
and activities of the church, telling all the good things you 
know of persons and institutions in the community, though, 
of course, the conversation should never degenerate into 
mere gossip. If the host be devoutly minded, it will be 
quite in order to read a helpful portion from the Scriptures 
and pray briefly before leaving. This prayer may be made 
sitting or standing as well as kneeling. 

Again, it might be appropriate to stay and listen, rather 
than talk. As previously noted, there are burdened spirits 
who need nothing so much as a sympathetic and attentive 
ear into which they may discharge their feelings. They will 
derive more comfort from an inarticulate pastor than one 
who is voluble. It is a good thing for the physician of souls 
to know when his silence will be more healing than his 
words. 

Let no minister suppose that he must pray in every 
home. A pastor on coming to a new church let it be known 
that this was his ideal, and later discovered that few people 
were at home when he rang the bell. A wiser pastor an¬ 
nounced that, except in cases of sickness or trouble, as a 
rule he was not accustomed to suggest prayer when he vis¬ 
ited members of the church in their homes. Since the obli¬ 
gation of hospitality was on them, he would wait for an 
invitation. His own hope, however, was expressed hu- 


* Pastor-Preacher, p. 139* 



282 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


morously by the comment that he expected them to be well- 
mannered in this regard. Why should the physician of 
souls have but one prescription, regardless of varying tem¬ 
peraments and conditions ? Let him be as wise as the healer 
of the body, who makes a careful diagnosis of each case and 
adapts the treatment to the disease. 

Some ministers utilize the mail as a valuable pastor’s as¬ 
sistant. The personal visits of the lamented Maltbie Bab¬ 
cock were very brief. Frequently he made as many as 
twenty-five calls in an afternoon. But he had the imagina¬ 
tion to take in a situation at a glance, and on his return to 
his home often spent several hours writing notes of advice 
and helpful suggestion to those whom he had found in need 
of pastoral counsel. Dr. George S. Butters, of Boston, 
has followed a similar plan. In every community where he 
has lived men and women treasure pastoral epistles which 
he addressed to them at important crises in their lives, and 
literally hundreds of ministers in his denomination, whom 
he first met as theological students, preserve with great 
care letters which he has written across a long period of 
years. This use of the pen is commended especially to those 
who find it difficult to express themselves in speech when 
they feel deeply. 

In cities and larger towns it is all but impossible to see 
the men of the congregation during the day unless one calls 
on them at their places of business. As a rule, laymen 
rather like to have their pastor hunt them up at their work, 
provided he does not come too often or stay too long. 
This kind of a call usually should be very brief. The object 
should be merely to let the man know that his pastor thinks 
of him and wishes him well in all that concerns him. If 
one plans to consult laymen on church business during the 
day, an appointment should be made in advance for that 
purpose. Men usually are appreciative of any effort which 
the pastor may make to visit their families during the eve¬ 
ning. They have time then for social and religious con¬ 
versation which is denied them during the day. 


PASTORAL VISITING 


283 


It is not clear that a minister should announce publicly 
in advance that he will call on the families who live in a 
certain district during the following week. There is al¬ 
ways a possibility that he may be compelled to change his 
plan, and some will await his coming in vain. Moreover, 
it may give others the opportunity to avoid a call which 
they need sorely. It seems better, on the whole, to take 
one’s chances on finding people at home, and, if they are 
absent, to call again. 

It should be unnecessary to say that no minister should 
make pastoral visiting an occasion when he airs his per¬ 
sonal grievances or works up sympathy for himself. He 
goes to give sympathy and not to get it. 

Some ministers feel that their wives must accompany 
them in their pastoral visiting. When it is convenient and 
pleasurable for them to go, let them do so by all means. 
But that they are obligated to attend their husbands thus is 
not obvious. The minister’s wife may have a unique re¬ 
lation to the church, but certainly it cannot be that of parish 
visitor. Should a physician’s wife accompany her husband 
on his professional calls? Let the mistress of the parson¬ 
age have her own calling list independently of her husband. 
In many cases the same names will appear on both lists, 
but the lists will not be identical throughout. It may be 
urged that there is a type of woman in almost every com¬ 
munity who is especially attracted to ministers, and against 
these their wives must protect them. In reply it may be 
said that almost never does a minister whose heart is pure 
and whose manner is above reproach get into trouble of 
this kind. If he needs other protection than a clean mind 
affords, let him take as escort a male lay official of the 
church or an officer of the law—or stay away. 

2. Special Calling. This includes all official visiting 
which is required by something exceptional in the experi¬ 
ence of individual members of the church or its constituency. 
It is additional to the regular visiting which should go on 
constantly, and, in importance, takes precedence over it. 


284 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


That is to say, an individual in especial need of pastoral 
attention has a preferred claim upon the pastor’s time, even 
the hours ordinarily set apart for study. This type of visit¬ 
ing embraces calls upon the sick, the troubled, strangers, 
and all who are upon the pastor’s “personal work list.” 

a. Upon the Sick. A pastor on going to a new parish 
should begin his work by visiting immediately all who are 
ill, and he should let the congregation know that he desires 
to be informed in the event that any home is stricken with 
sickness. Nothing but ignorance of the fact can excuse 
pastoral neglect of any who suffer. Those who are “shut 
in” as the result of chronic invalidism should be visited 
regularly, both by the pastor and any parish visitors who 
may assist him. Their names should be on special mailing 
lists to receive all printed matter issued by the church, and 
good wishes may be sent frequently over the telephone. 

In the case of acute and sudden illness the pastor should 
call as soon as he learns of the trouble, and, under ordinary 
circumstances, every day thereafter as long as the illness 
continues to be serious. Some of these subsequent calls may 
be made by telephone, particularly if the sickness is not of 
a threatening nature; but the personal visit will be more 
appreciated because it requires a greater expenditure of 
time and energy. 

The pastor should have two ends in view in visiting the 
sick: (i)composing the spirit of the patient, and (2) being 
a good friend to the family. In the first instance his call 
may have genuine therapeutic value. The relation of the 
mind to disease is now generally admitted. Depression and 
irritability are inimical to health and retard recovery from 
sickness, while calmness, buoyancy, and hopeful expectancy 
assist the healing process greatly. The wise minister may 
do much to create a state of mind favorable to the restora¬ 
tion of health. 

Nor does it depreciate the value of this service to recog¬ 
nize that it is accomplished by “suggestion.” It is not 
necessary to approve all that is said in the name of a be- 


PASTORAL VISITING 


285 


havioristic psychology to use its method intelligently, as 
does the salesman in selling merchandise. The wise pastor 
knows what kind of a response he wishes to secure from 
the patient, and will plan his appeal with the utmost care. 
On entering the home, let him lay aside his outer garments 
—overcoat, hat, gloves, and rubbers. His manner on ap¬ 
proaching the bedside of the patient should be cheery, 
though quiet; and sympathetic, though not solemn. He 
should not stay long, for sick people tire easily; nor should 
he talk much of his own illnesses. Let him listen, however, 
if the patient wishes to describe his sickness. All this is 
of absorbing concern and relieves the mind. Then the pa¬ 
tient’s attention may be directed away from his illness to 
people, things, and events of interest. Leave a book to be 
read when reading is possible, or flowers, either in your own 
or the name of the church. If you know a good story that 
will provoke a smile, this is the time to tell it. Let all that 
is said be designed to stimulate in the sufferer a hopeful, 
pleasant frame of mind. And, if possible, one should turn 
the conversation so as to suggest naturally the healing 
values of prayer and faith, for nothing is more potent in 
composing the restless mind. Thus the spirit, manner, and 
words of the pastor will be designed to induce an attitude 
which will be favorable to recovery. 

If it should appear that the patient grows steadily worse 
and death is imminent, the pastor should be the most de¬ 
voted friend of the family. This would mean, at the least, 
keeping in constant touch with them, and, at the most, 
putting himself entirely at their disposal for any service 
which he is able to render. One distinguished minister in 
Methodism well-nigh took up his abode at the home when 
death was expected in any family in his parish. Happy is 
that family whose pastor is gifted with imagination as well 
as sympathy so that he understands without being told how 
he can serve best, whether by speaking or keeping silence, 
by his activities or by his prayers! And this service should 
continue long after the funeral, if it comes to that. A cer- 


286 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


tain bishop in the church is generally commended for the 
profundity of his thought and the simplicity of his utter¬ 
ance, but the sound of his name is like sweet music to one 
elderly woman because every day for three weeks he called 
at her home after a member of her family had died. He 
seldom stayed more than five minutes, but it was long 
enough to let her know that she and her loneliness were 
much in his mind those dreary days. 

The conduct of the pastor in the face of contagious dis¬ 
ease will be regulated largely by the laws of public health. 
He has no more right to consider personal danger than a 
physician; and his family is obligated to take the same 
risks should occasion arise, which are run by the doc¬ 
tor’s wife and children. But let him be guilty of no fool¬ 
hardiness. If he must expose himself to contagion in the 
discharge of his pastoral duties, let him consult a physician 
concerning protective measures which may be taken, both 
for his own and his family’s sake. He should never be 
guilty of disregarding quarantines without the consent of 
health officials. The telephone and mails, of course, may 
be used to communicate with those who are isolated. 

As a matter of fact, visiting the sick is always attended 
by more or less hazard, and the careless pastor may easily 
become a “carrier” of disease. He will almost certainly 
shake hands with the patient, and may handle articles which 
the latter has touched. Consider how perilous that is in a 
case of tuberculosis. The thoughtful pastor, then, should 
always be careful to cleanse his hands thoroughly after a 
visit to the sick-room. 

The relation of the pastor to the physician should be one 
of cordial cooperation. Most physicians recognize the 
therapeutic value of the pastor’s call and welcome it, ex¬ 
cept where a pastor has proven himself to be a wretched 
bungler who irritates more than he soothes by his coming. 
Generally, the minister will be admitted to sick-rooms, hos¬ 
pitals, and operating rooms when all others are excluded, 
and he may call at other than the regular hours for visiting. 


PASTORAL VISITING 


287 


But should the physician leave orders that no one may see 
the patient, or if the nurse should warn, “Only a minute!” 
he must have the utmost respect for their commands. They 
are in charge of the case. Let him turn his attentions to 
the family, who need him in such an hour more than the 
patient. 

b. Upon Strangers. After the sick, strangers have the 
next best right to the pastor’s attention. It is quite possible 
that the minister may not understand how lonely new peo¬ 
ple can be in a community. He and his family receive so 
much attention when they come that he may mistakenly 
assume that others are as cordially received. It is seldom 
so. Often strangers wait in vain for signs of friendly in¬ 
terest in their neighbors. They may even attend church 
without anyone inquiring for their names or bidding them 
welcome. For an occasional Christian (?) takes the posi¬ 
tion that he does not care to make any new friends. As 
soon as he learns of their presence the minister should 
call in the name of the church, provided, of course, that 
they belong to his constituency. (If they are members of 
another denomination, he should give their names to the 
pastor of that religious body.) And he should urge the 
members of his own church who live near by to call soon. 
Conscientious pastors use many devices to inform them¬ 
selves concerning strangers. Blank cards are kept in the 
pews for reporting their names. The members of the church 
are asked to act as “sentinels” who notify him when he 
should call on new people in their block. Sunday-school 
teachers are trained to report the names of new pupils so 
that the minister may call on the parents. Ushers in the 
public service note the unfamiliar faces and quietly secure 
their names and addresses, introducing them when possible 
to the pastor. He, in turn, secures their “church letters,” 
and builds them as rapidly as possible into the life and or¬ 
ganizations of the new church. 

c. The Troubled. This group would be, as a matter of 
fact, identical with the entire membership of the church, 


288 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


for trouble in some form comes to all. Here the term is 
restricted, however, to those who are miserable for other 
reasons than physical illness. It includes the wearied, the 
worried, the anxious, the depressed, the perplexed, the dis¬ 
couraged, the sinful. The amount of mental and emotional 
suffering in the world cannot be exaggerated. The number 
of persons who destroy themselves annually because life 
has become intolerable; the multitudes who follow after 
Christian Science and other cults which promise peace of 
mind; the tens of thousands who take “the rest cure” in 
sanitariums; the millions who seek diversion and self- 
forgetfulness in drugs, intoxicants, and extravagant amuse¬ 
ments—these all bear witness to the far-reaching sway of 
unhappiness. The causes are numerous, sometimes found 
in external circumstances, and sometimes in psychological 
conditions. In part, they are due to the monotony of mod¬ 
ern industry; in other part, to defective education in the 
home, the school, and the church; and, in yet other part, 
to the rapid pace of modern life, which gives very few an 
opportunity to compose themselves. Some of this misery 
is psychopathic, a matter for experts highly trained in the 
methods of psychoanalysis. Most of it may be relieved, 
however, by the “healing personality” of a sympathetic pas¬ 
tor who has the imagination to understand in how many 
ways the spirit of man may be burdened; and the patience 
to listen while the heart pours out that which has been too 
long repressed; and the wisdom to make helpful suggestion 
concerning the attainment of peace and self-control. 

The nature of these suggestions will vary greatly, for 
different problems require different solutions. When pov¬ 
erty is the real source of trouble the pastor must do all in 
his power to find employment, or, if that is impossible, to 
provide for permanent relief, enlisting the interest of all 
persons and institutions directly concerned. When the case 
is one of domestic unhappiness in which husband and wife 
are alienated, appeal, exhortation, rebuke may all be in 
order, according as the facts show that one or both are 


PASTORAL VISITING 


289 


culpable. No more difficult problem ever comes to the pas¬ 
tor than this, and, as a rule, he will do well to take with 
him a wise and patient layman for advice and counsel. If 
the troubled be young people who have blundered through 
ignorance or lack of self-mastery, the case is one for sym¬ 
pathetic reproof and constant watchfulness in the future. 
And if the case be one of moral obliquity on the part of 
a mature person in the church, the pastor may find it neces¬ 
sary to speak as the voice of conscience, both of the sinner 
and the church. But we must say again that no set of rules 
can be laid down for handling any pastoral problem. Only 
common sense, imagination, and sympathy can teach us 
what to say or do. 

The spiritual welfare of the church membership may be 
increased by the pastor who emphasizes, both in the pulpit 
and his calling, the value of daily prayer and meditation. 
The discipline of Christian Science requires that a con¬ 
siderable portion of time each day shall be devoted to the 
deliberate culture of the sense of well-being by uncritical 
reflection upon the affirmations of “Science and Health.” 
This practice more than anything else accomplishes the al¬ 
leged “cures” of this body. But anyone who will spend at 
least twenty minutes each day in religious meditation, clos¬ 
ing the mind to that which disturbs and annoys, and filling 
it with that which is peaceful and holy by reading worthy 
devotional literature and engaging in prayer, will find his 
mental, moral, and physical health improving. An old monk 
long ago called this “practicing the Presence of God.” And 
there is no way of truly reviving the church except by cul¬ 
tivating this old habit. 

d. The Unevangelized. A final group which has special 
claims upon the pastor’s time consists of those who are un¬ 
evangelized. The term is a broad one, embracing not merely 
the unchurched, but the unconverted, and all who have 
never ventured into the deep places of Christian experience, 
whether members of the church or not. Their names will 
compose the pastor’s “Personal Work List,” and none but 


290 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


himself and God will see it. These must be cultivated per¬ 
sistently and lovingly, though with tact and common sense. 
There should be no nagging, yet there must be constant 
pursuit which never abandons the holy chase. Let the pas¬ 
tor angle for these souls as the fisherman angles for the 
wary trout. He should be tactful, yet at times be ready to 
risk a blunder by bold adventuring. This work must go on 
month after month, intensified, perhaps, during special 
meetings, but not abandoned when meetings are done. 

Books Recommended for Further Study 

W. A. Quayle, The Pastor-Preacher. 

Charles E. Jefferson, The Minister as Shepherd. 

Washington Gladden, The Christian Pastor. 

F. J. McConnell, The Preacher and the People. 

John T. Stone, In the Footsteps of a Pastor. 


CHAPTER XXVII 


MINOR MINISTERIAL ETHICS 

There is no professional worker whose service is af¬ 
fected more by an unethical quality in his living and conduct 
than that of the minister. Yet it might be possible, as 
Doctor Batten suggests, 1 to say that the ministry as a body 
has no code of professional ethics. This is true, however, 
only when we mean by a professional code one that has 
been formally elaborated and adopted by a group of workers 
who were empowered to speak for a whole profession. 
Examples of such codes are found in the canons of ethics 
for lawyers, adopted by the American Bar Association, and 
in a code of medical ethics adopted by the American Medical 
Association. 

Several reasons may be urged for the lack of such a 
formal code for religious workers. The motive for entering 
the ministry differs radically from that of any other pro¬ 
fession, as has been suggested in a previous chapter. It 
might be assumed that men acting from such a motive 
would not need the restraints of a formal ethical code. 
Again, practically all ministers belong to particular denom¬ 
inations. The differences separating these religious bodies 
are very marked. Each has its own standards for its own 
ministers, but it would be difficult to secure the cooperation 
of all in formulating a code which should be binding upon 
all. Nevertheless, the profession is tested by the highest 
standards. There are those who believe that the unwritten 
Constitution of England is of greater practical utility than 
the written Constitution of the United States. Similarly, 
the unofficial code of ethics for the ministry is more exact- 

x See an article, “The Ethics of the Ministry,” in Annals of the 
American Academy of Political Science, May, 1922, p. 147. 

291 



292 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


ing than the carefully formulated rules which govern work¬ 
ers in other professions. A minister will be discredited and 
unfrocked for private conduct which would not affect at 
all the professional standing of a lawyer or a physician. 
This is due chiefly to the fact that he stands before the com¬ 
munity as a teacher of New Testament ethics, and by this 
Christian standard, which he interprets, the community in¬ 
evitably will judge him. 

Besides the restraints imposed upon his private and pro¬ 
fessional life by the ethics of the New Testament, the min¬ 
ister in the Methodist Episcopal Church is bound by a 
carefully written code set forth in the Discipline of the 
church. 2 It is called “the rules for a preacher’s conduct.” 
These were written first by John Wesley for the guidance of 
his English preachers. On the organization of the church 
in America, they were adopted by the ministers in the new 
country, and have been confirmed by each succeeding Gen¬ 
eral Conference. Every minister who applies for admission 
into an Annual Conference is asked, “Have you considered 
the rules for a preacher, especially those relating to dili¬ 
gence, to punctuality, and to doing the work to which you 
were assigned, and will you keep them for conscience’ 
sake?” Thus each candidate for our ministry admits this 
code as binding, in spirit, upon himself. 

Formal professional codes aim to safeguard the en¬ 
trance to the profession, to maintain the dignity and 
standing of the profession, and to assert with great 
care the obligation of all professional workers to be 
bound by the motive of service. The principles of 
medical ethics, as set forth by the American Med¬ 
ical Association, are arranged in three chapters, namely: 
(1) The Duties of Physicians to Their Patients, (2) The 
Duties of Physicians to Each Other and the Profession at 
Large, (3) The Duties of the Profession to the Public. 
The concluding paragraph says, “While the foregoing state- 


* Discipline, 1920, HU 117-130. 



MINOR MINISTERIAL ETHICS 


293 


ments express in a general way the duty of the physician, 
. . . it is not to be supposed that they cover the whole field 
of medical ethics, or that the physician is not under many 
duties and obligations besides these herein set forth.” A 
similar statement might be made in concluding the rules for 
a preacher’s conduct. These rules take account chiefly of 
matters of major importance. But many ministers become 
wholly unacceptable, not through the violation of these 
greater rules but through disregard of minor matters, which, 
though trivial by comparison, are of great consequence in 
the community’s estimate of their efficiency. In this chap¬ 
ter we shall deal with these little things, many of which are 
not mentioned at all in the chapter in the Discipline on 
“Qualifications and Work of the Ministry,” and one might 
even search the New Testament in vain for a statement con¬ 
cerning some of them. Saint Paul says, “I put no obstacle 
in the path of any so that my ministry may not be discred¬ 
ited.” 3 Every minister should be equally eager to remove 
from his life and conduct everything, however trifling, 
which in any way reflects upon his office. It is impossible 
to make a complete catalogue of these faults. They fall 
into a few great groups which are not mutually exclusive. 
Such practical classifications as are attempted here include 
only the more common failings. We must repeat that which 
has been affirmed so often in these pages, that there is no 
safe guide in these matters except what is afforded by a 
discriminating taste and a sensitive conscience. 

1. Personal Hygiene, a. It is so regrettable as to be 
painful that some ministers are untidy to an intolerable 
degree. The mediaeval association between piety and filth 
is no longer admitted. No degree of sanctity, and no depth 
of ministerial poverty will ever excuse soiled linen, grimy 
hands, black finger nails, unbrushed teeth, dirty shoes, vests 
spotted with grease, dandruff-covered coat collars, in the 
minister himself. Nor will they excuse untidy housekeeping 


•2 Cor. 6. 3, Moffatt’s translation. 



294 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


or unkempt children in his home. Each of these things be¬ 
trays an indifference to personal cleanliness which every¬ 
where shocks the sensibilities of people of ordinary refine¬ 
ment. How can they respect the minister’s judgment in 
spiritual things when they must apologize for him in such 
elementary matters as these? “I am ashamed to introduce 
him to my business associates as my minister,” exclaimed 
a vexed layman whose badly groomed pastor was a constant 
source of humiliation. 

b. But some who are meticulous in caring for the outside 
of the body are grossly indifferent to the inside, with the 
result that spiritual efficiency becomes seriously impaired 
through low physical vitality. The men who follow se¬ 
dentary occupations must put their bodies under and provide 
sparingly for physical appetites. Ministers are proverbially 
poor, but that does not keep some of them from eating too 
much. Nor is it altogether a question of quantity, but also 
one of kinds of food. They consume too much meat and 
starch, and too little fruit and green vegetables. The or¬ 
gans of digestion and elimination are overloaded. Consti¬ 
pation, kidney trouble, indigestion, and foul breath inevita¬ 
bly result. John Wesley’s demand that his preachers should 
fast regularly was justifiable on physiological as well as re¬ 
ligious grounds. “Do you use only that kind and degree of 
food which is best both for body and soul? Do you eat no 
more at each meal than is necessary? Are you not heavy 
or drowsy after dinner?” 4 An overfed body is not an ef¬ 
fective instrument for the soul. 

c. Posture has much to do with physical efficiency. 
Physicians tell us that man has limb for limb, bone for bone, 
and muscle for muscle with other mammals. His upright 
position puts an unaccustomed strain on the nervous sys¬ 
tem. The weight, which in other animals is supported by 
the abdominal muscles, settles into the pelvis and puts pres¬ 
sure on new nerve centers. This strain quickly produces a 


4 Discipline, 1920, H I 2 if. 



MINOR MINISTERIAL ETHICS 


295 


sense of fatigue. The only way to relieve it is to maintain 
a good posture—head erect, shoulders thrown back, and 
abdomen supported by muscular effort. Yet how infre¬ 
quently does one find a minister who carries himself prop¬ 
erly ! Generally he stands lop-sidedly on one foot, chest 
and shoulders thrown forward, and abdominal muscles com¬ 
pletely relaxed. He thinks he stands this way because he 
is tired. As a matter of fact, the truth probably is that he 
is tired because he stands this way. 

d. Exercise is important too, though not in the same 
sense as for the athlete. The minister does not need hard 
muscles. He requires only that degree of physical activity 
which will keep every bodily organ in good condition. Set¬ 
ting-up exercises morning and night, and additional exer¬ 
cise which will be equivalent to a five-mile walk each day, 
will generally suffice. 

2. Good Manners. Of all men in the world, the minister 
should be most mannerly; yet good manners are not always 
in evidence among religious leaders. We are not thinking 
now of codes of etiquette which prescribe in detail the action 
appropriate to ceremonial occasions. “The words etiquette 
and ticket have the same origin. Formerly, the rules and 
ceremonies to be observed at court were printed on a ticket, 
and given to every person presented at court.” So E. J. 
Hardy comments in How to Be Happy Though Civil? 
Rules of this kind change, like fashions, with every wind. 
We have in mind, rather, that gentle bearing and considera¬ 
tion for others which is indispensable to happy relations 
among men. Edmund Burke says: “Manners are of more 
importance than laws. Upon them, in great measure, the 
laws depend. The law touches here and there, now and 
then. Manners are what vex or soothe, corrupt or purify, 
exalt or debase, barbarize or refine us, by a constant, steady, 
uniform, insensible operation, like the air we breathe in. 
They give their whole form and color to our lives. Accord- 


*P. 13. 



296 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


ing to their quality, they aid morals, they supply them, or 
they totally destroy them .” 6 

In spite, however, of the obligation which his religion im¬ 
poses upon him to be civil, and its usefulness in allaying 
the frictions incident to his work, the rude and ill-man¬ 
nered minister is conspicuous and discredits the whole pro¬ 
fession. This is apparent in his ostentatious disregard of 
proprieties on the supposition that he is proving himself 
democratic; in conversing with guests in the pulpit while 
others are contributing to public worship; in looking bored 
while others are speaking; in taking more than his share 
of time on a program when others besides himself are to 
speak; in self-assertively doing all the talking at a dinner 
party or other social occasion; in affecting eccentricities of 
dress and manner; in petty concern for his own prestige, 
anxious that proper deference shall be paid him on every 
occasion; in parading the affairs of his own household and 
the cleverness of his own children before the congregation; 
in improper bodily contacts with members of the congrega¬ 
tion, jocosely slapping men on the back and sentimentally 
dealing with women or holding their hands in both his own 
as though he were their father or older brother; in careless¬ 
ness about engagements; in slangy and coarse speech; in 
discourteous contradiction of the statements of others; in 
fidgeting and fussing; in planning to get before the public 
and see his name in print; in picking his teeth, chewing 
toothpicks, trimming his finger nails, and expectorating in 
public places; in assuming generally that the obligation to 
be a Christian gentleman rests upon every person in the 
world but himself. Of course no one minister was ever 
quite guilty of all these faults, but everyone knows some 
minister who is guilty of one or more of them. Bad man¬ 
ners are regrettable for any minister. They are inexcusable 
for Methodist ministers. Professor Hoppin, of Yale Uni¬ 
versity, said, “John Wesley, plain and severe as we picture 


^Quoted by E. J. Hardy, op. cit., p. 12. 



MINOR MINISTERIAL ETHICS 


297 


him, insisted upon the highest style of manners in the min¬ 
isterial office, all the courtesy of the gentleman joined with 
the correctness of the scholar /’ 7 

The causes of bad manners are numerous. Defective 
early training is surely one. This usually applies, however, 
only to those conventions which are indispensable to social 
intercourse. Wherever there are contacts with our fellow- 
men, to proceed according to well-recognized customs is to 
reduce friction. To disregard them will only create con¬ 
fusion and misunderstanding as certainly as failure to heed 
the signal of a traffic officer. For example, if one is a guest 
in a private home during Annual Conference, he is ex¬ 
pected to act as if he understood perfectly that a home is 
not a hotel. He will disturb the routine of the family as 
little as possible and make his convenience suit that of the 
family if within his power. And on returning to his own 
home, he will send a note of appreciation to his hosts for 
their gracious hospitality. To conduct oneself otherwise 
under circumstances such as these will open the way to 
censure. But defective conduct which grows out of ig¬ 
norance of social conventions is not especially serious when 
one honestly intends to be thoughtful, modest, and cour¬ 
teous. He may inform himself concerning polite usages 
by studying a good volume on manners. 

The situation is much more complicated when the cause 
is a wrong inner attitude of heart and mind. Vanity is one 
of these. This is responsible for the self-conscious asser¬ 
tion of oneself on small occasions—telling what others have 
said about one’s sermons, parading one’s hobbies and private 
affairs as if they must be of universal interest. “The vain 
man can scarcely be well-mannered; he is so absorbed in the 
contemplation of his own perfections that he cannot think 
of other people and study their feelings .” 8 Irritability is 
another fruitful source of incivility, whether it is caused by 
weariness, illness, or constitutional churlishness. The irri- 


7 Pastoral Theology, p. 196. 

8 E. J. Hardy, op. cit., p. 116, 



298 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


tated person is always chiefly concerned with himself, full 
of fault-finding, and lacking in appreciation of others. 

Probably every other source of bad manners, however, is 
gathered up under this —disregard for other persons. Bad 
pulpit manners are due to lack of respect for God and the 
congregation. All vulgar conduct—loudness, coarseness, 
silliness, boorishness, obtrusiveness of every sort—is due 
to lack of regard for the rights and feelings and presence of 
others. Reverence for others impels to love and sympathy, 
which prompts us to be courteous. Disregard for others 
impels us to throw away all self-restraint and let ourselves 
go according to the feeling of the moment. 

The cure for bad manners is, of course, suggested by their 
several causes. If they are due to faulty education, then 
one should study some good guide to social conduct, watch 
the way in which others deport themselves, and eliminate 
that in one’s own conduct which contrasts unpleasantly with 
their action. If vanity be the cause, then one must stop 
thinking of himself. If irritability, then one must learn to 
master his moods. If they are due to lack of respect for 
others, then one must learn to reverence personality wher¬ 
ever it is found, whether in God or a congregation, in adults 
or children. One who reverences all men because they are 
men will never quite abandon himself to say or do just 
what he likes. He will be concerned less with making him¬ 
self comfortable and more with putting others at their ease. 
“To listen when we are bored, to talk when we are listless, 
to stand when we are tired, to praise when we are indiffer¬ 
ent, to accept the companionship of a stupid acquaintance 
when we might, at the expense of politeness, escape to a 
clever friend, to endure with smiling composure the near 
presence of people who are distasteful to us—these things, 
and many like them, brace the sinews of our souls. They 
set a fine and delicate standard for common intercourse. 
They discipline us for the good of the community .” 9 

9 Agnes Repplier, Americans and Others, p. 26. Reprinted by per¬ 
mission of Houghton Mifflin Company. 



MINOR MINISTERIAL ETHICS 


299 


3. Unreality. Among the influences which “unmake” 
a preacher, President (emeritus) Tucker, of Dartmouth, 
gives the primacy to unreality . This he defines as “the fail¬ 
ure to get right correspondence between the expression and 
the comprehension of truth .” 10 One less gifted with phil¬ 
osophic insight, and less skillful in saying harsh things 
sweetly, might define it simply as affectation, artificiality, in¬ 
sincerity, or plain “bluff.” 

a. This peril threatens the intellectual life of many 
ministers who pretend a knowledge which they do not pos¬ 
sess, and affect an assurance which their attainments do not 
warrant. They are given to dogmatic utterance without 
offering solid reasons for their statements, and exalt their 
own unsupported opinions as the standards by which all 
in the community must stand or fall. At the best this in¬ 
tellectual unreality consists in affirming the ancient beliefs 
in ancient phraseology without verifying them in one’s 
own personal experience; and at the worst it consists in 
grossly putting forth as one’s own the thoughts and ex¬ 
periences of others. Conceivably it might consist in preach¬ 
ing less than one believes rather than more—in permitting 
the congregation to think that one accepts old statements 
of belief which, as a matter of fact, he secretly rejects. 

b. Unreality breaks out too at the point of the emotional 
life, manifesting itself in the pulpit in a “ministerial tone,” 
in “rhetorical courage,” in gestures and voice artificially 
solemn or strenuous, in a religious fervor which one does 
not feel. In social contacts it expresses itself in gushing, 
and unctuous compliments on meeting people, in pretending 
to know or remember everyone, in excessive and flattering 
graciousness which does not represent one’s true feeling. 
The necessity that is on the minister to make himself agree¬ 
able to all for the sake of their cooperation in his work 
strongly tempts him to become affected. 

c. Moreover, unreality is reflected in the petty devices 


10 The Making and Unmaking of the Preacher, p. 62. 



300 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


sometimes employed to give an appearance of success in 
church work which would not otherwise he suspected. For 
example, informing the church press each time the salary 
is increased, or an invitation is received to speak on some 
special occasion; special diligence in visiting just previous 
to the fourth Quarterly Conference in order to make a 
good report, even counting casual conversations on the 
street or at the post office as pastoral calls; Annual Con¬ 
ference reports of church and Sunday-school membership 
based on generous estimates rather than careful tabulations; 
reporting as “converted” all who bow at the altars of the 
church for any reason during special meetings; reporting 
large numbers received into church membership without 
explaining that a majority came by transfer, or that many 
were counted twice—once as probationers, and again when 
received into full membership. In these and countless other 
ways ministers may degrade themselves to make a “good 
showing.” The preacher may be excused for lack of elo¬ 
quence and brilliancy, but never for lack of candor and 
simple honesty. 

4. Financial Matters. Delinquency in matters of 
finance hinders the effectiveness of some ministers. 

a. This more commonly takes the form of debt, which 
trails them from charge to charge. It is easy to buy “on ac¬ 
count,” and the salary is generally meager. So the creditor 
may seem to be a real friend. But to pay is difficult, some¬ 
times impossible, and good men have been impelled by sheer 
desperation to undertake disastrous ventures in speculation 
or “borrow” church funds in the hope of escaping from 
debt. Or it may be that they have become callously indif¬ 
ferent to their obligations, which is worse. The minister 
should borrow money sparingly; he should not run current 
bills in excess of his monthly salary; and when obligations 
fall due he should make no delay in meeting them. If he 
cannot pay when he promised, let him say so frankly and 
arrange for an extension of time, but never disregard the 
obligation. 


MINOR MINISTERIAL ETHICS 


301 


b. Church Funds. The minister may become seriously 
involved through the careless handling of church funds. A 
few simple rules will save him trouble and possibly shame. 
(1) Never accept responsibility for administering funds 
which properly should be deposited with one of the church 
treasurers. (2) In case it seems imperatively necessary to 
become the custodian of church moneys, never deposit or 
in any way mix them with personal funds. Open separate 
accounts for them at the bank. And never borrow from 
them for private use. (3) Keep a careful and clear record 
of all receipts and expenditures of such moneys. (4) In¬ 
sist that at regular and frequent intervals, all accounts shall 
be carefully audited by competent persons. 

c. Supplementing the Salary. Frequently an insufficient 
salary, or sometimes plain commercial-mindedness, impels 
ministers to resort to various methods of increasing their 
income while continuing in the pastorate. Farming; invest¬ 
ments in enterprises which promise large returns in interest 
or dividends; selling life insurance; breeding poultry, rab¬ 
bits, or dogs for the market; buying and selling stocks, land, 
timber, or fruit orchards; taking agencies, or permitting 
their children to do so, to sell books, pictures, etc., to the 
community in which they live—these, together with writing 
and lecturing, are among the more common devices usually 
employed. Obviously, not all of these are equally objection¬ 
able. For example, to go on a Chautauqua circuit certainly 
comports more with the dignity of the ministry than to pro¬ 
mote the sale of oil or mining stocks. There is great need 
for discrimination in these matters. The following observa¬ 
tions would seem to be pertinent: 

(1) The Methodist minister has taken a vow “to give 
himself wholly to the work of the ministry.” Whatever 
more may be implied, this surely means that he shall have 
an undivided mind with reference to his work. Anything 
which seriously diverts his attention or makes large de¬ 
mands upon his time and strength must be pushed aside. 

(2) While the church is obligated to provide a suitable 


302 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


support for the minister and his family, it cannot be ex¬ 
pected to do more than this. The ministry in whatever form 
must never become attractive by virtue of financial rewards. 
Its large compensations must ever be found in the peculiar 
aims and satisfactions of the work. 

(3) There would seem to be no inherent impropriety in 
extra-ministerial labor along kindred lines, such as writing 
or lecturing, provided it is not allowed to interfere with 
one’s main task. 

(4) In the event that a minister cannot live on what the 
church will pay him he may honorably abandon the ministry 
for commercial pursuits, but he may not follow them and 
continue in the ministry on salary. Secular work is highly 
diverting and distracting. Moreover, the best conscience 
of the community insists that if the minister engages in 
it he should do so on terms of equality with others. He 
may not claim a subsidy in the form of a salary for reli¬ 
gious work and then enter into competition with those who 
enjoy no such advantage, or, perhaps, have helped pro¬ 
vide the subsidy for him. 

(5) The minister should be thrifty so far as lies in his 
power. He is under obligation to save something out of 
his salary to provide comfort in old age or to protect his 
family in case of death. At the best his savings will be 
small. It is imperative then, that in investing them, he shall 
have regard, first, for the safety of his principal. Less than 
a rich man can he afford to risk his all in questionable ven¬ 
tures, and he may safely assume that any enterprise is 
questionable which seeks to finance itself on the small sav¬ 
ings of salaried persons by the promise of large returns. 
If it were a good investment, its promoters could get their 
capital from the banks. And the minister cannot afford 
to invest his money in what the banks consider worthless. 
Life insurance is the wisest investment for the person of 
small salary. I11 case of early death, it returns many times 
the amount paid in premiums, while if one lives until the 
policy matures, at least a reasonable interest is returned for 


MINOR MINISTERIAL ETHICS 


303 


the use of the principal. One will usually be very wise in 
refusing to invest in enterprises which promise more than 
five and a half or six per cent. It is the part of wisdom to 
consult a good banker before making an investment. 

(6) A minister as agent should never seek to influence 
others in making investments. Much less should he appeal 
to the religious motive to risk their savings in highly specu¬ 
lative enterprises. This is beneath contempt. For similar 
exploitation of religious instincts and institutions in the 
interest of personal profit, Jesus became greatly angered and 
drove the money-changers from the Temple with a heavy 
corded whip. And honest men to-day are filled with a sense 
of outrage at such abuse of ministerial power. 

5. Mendicancy. The mendicant-priest and the begging- 
friar are familiar figures among non-Christians and Catho¬ 
lics. Theoretically, Protestantism makes no place for these 
professional “holy men” with their ostentatious poverty. 
But as a matter of fact the spirit of mendicancy obtrudes 
itself under all forms of religion. It has entered into the 
heart of every one who finds himself asking or expecting 
favors because he is a religious worker by profession, which 
he never would receive if he were not. Doubtless all are 
familiar with the reasons by which the clergy justify (to 
their own satisfaction) the custom of accepting presents, 
discounts, and special consideration of all kinds. But the 
fact remains that the finest spirits in the ministry have ever 
heard with whole-hearted approval Jesus’ injunction to the 
twelve, “Take no wallet [begging bowl].” 11 Phillips 
Brooks exclaims bravely, “That which ought to be the man¬ 
liest of all professions has a tendency, practically, to make 
men unmanly. Men make appeals for sympathy that no 
true man should make. They take to themselves Saint 
Paul’s pathos without Saint Paul’s strength. Against that 
tendency, my friends, set your whole force.” 12 Perhaps a 

n Luke 9. 3. 

12 By permission from Lectures on Preaching, p. 68f. Copyright 
by E. P. Dutton and Company. 



304 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


better support for the ministry awaits the coming of a 
generation of preachers who will refuse to accept gratuities 
as a substitute for a fair salary. 

6. Laziness. This may be physical, but it is more likely 
to be intellectual. In the interest of comfort there is a 
pronounced disinclination to wrestle manfully with the prob¬ 
lems of thought which arise in religion. Some make them¬ 
selves think they are too busy to study—as if one could 
ever be excused for neglecting the principal task because 
of any number of lesser ones. Intellectual apathy may go hand 
in hand with physical vigor. The man who likes to work in 
the garden may put in time there which properly belongs to 
his books. Moreover, his delight in human companionship 
may smother mental and spiritual culture. Under a pretext 
of social sympathy which takes him among the people he 
shirks the hard and lonely tasks of study and reflection. 

7. Improper Speech. “Sin not with thy tongue!” should 
be written in bold letters above the study table of every 
minister. It includes every sort of improper utterance: 
ungenerous and gossipy speech about one’s brother minis¬ 
ters, inane story-telling and jesting, “smart” sayings which 
rankle and sting, as well as vulgarity and obscenity. Espe¬ 
cially should the ecclesiastical buffoon be on his guard—the 
man who is full of Bible jokes. The hot wrath of Phillips 
Brooks blazes forth on all such. “There are passages in 
the Bible which are soiled forever by the touches which the 
hands of ministers who delight in cheap and easy jokes 
have left upon them. I think there is nothing that stirs one’s 
indignation more than this, in all he sees of ministers. It 
is a purely wanton fault. What is simply stupid every¬ 
where else becomes terrible here.” 13 

8. Covetousness. The tenth commandment in the Deca¬ 
logue (against covetousness) should have a conspicuous 
place in any rules laid down for the conduct of ministers, 


13 By permission from Lectures on Preaching, p. 54. Copyright by 
E. P. Dutton and Company. 



MINOR MINISTERIAL ETHICS 


305 


amended, of course, to suit an ecclesiastical situation. Who 
has not met the minister who was envious of the esteem 
in which his predecessor is held? or who was jealous of his 
successor for captivating so readily the hearts of a former 
congregation ? or who was so intent upon getting into a gen¬ 
eral office or a traveling secretaryship that he neglected his 
pastoral work? This is responsible for all that is offensive 
in “ecclesiastical politics ,, —unashamed and immodest self- 
seeking for ecclesiastical preferment. There is not so much 
of it as is supposed, but more than should be. A highly cen¬ 
tralized form of church government, which requires a large 
number of general officers, may make it easy for men to 
sin in this way. But the best conscience of the church in¬ 
sists that anyone is disqualified for its high offices who self- 
assertively offers himself as a candidate or is active in 
promoting his own cause, whether he be a minister or a 
layman. The one serious criticism that may be made against 
our form of church government is that the administrative 
office is magnified above all others, and constantly operates 
to create dissatisfaction with the pastorate. If the pastorate 
could be restored in the consciousness of the church to the 
place of primacy among church offices, and the administra¬ 
tive office really be regarded as secondary, and so rewarded, 
covetousness might not disappear entirely but its forms cer¬ 
tainly would be greatly modified. 

9. Relations With Women. The most tragic experi¬ 
ence that can come to a church is to have its pastor dis¬ 
credited because of immoral relations with women. Com¬ 
paratively few ministers are unfaithful at this point—so few 
that the story of such a fall is told on the front page of 
every important newspaper on the continent, though he may 
have been previously the most obscure of men. Neverthe¬ 
less, this type of delinquency is common enough to warrant 
particular mention in this chapter. 

At two periods in his life a man may be in imminent peril 
from sexual appetite—once in youth before he has come 
to understand fully the significance of manhood, and again 


30 6 


THE PASTORAL OFFICE 


in middle age when, weary of life’s prosaic responsibilities, 
the desire for romance flares up and tempts him to relieve 
the tedium of commonplace days by irresponsible adventure. 
It is in the second of these periods that the minister is most 
likely to fall, for the first will have passed as a rule before 
he has begun his professional career; and if it had not 
passed without serious mishap, he would not have been ad¬ 
mitted to the ministry. In the later period his danger may 
be increased by a false sense of security growing out of his 
paternal relation to his own household. His fatherly con¬ 
sciousness may lead him to be more familiar with all women 
than he was as a younger man. And if, unfortunately, mis¬ 
understanding has arisen between himself and wife, leaving 
him to crave a sympathy which he thinks she does not give, 
the peril is still further magnified. 

Two types of women may shake his self-control at this 
time; one is a young woman, attractive in personality and 
mystical in temperament, who may be very active in church 
work and thus thrown much in the pastor’s company. Her 
interest in the things he counts most worth while may lead 
quite innocently on her part to an interest in herself which 
neither intended. If both are strong, they will remain mas¬ 
ters of themselves. If either is weak, disaster may follow. 
The other is a middle-aged woman who shares with him the 
desire for romantic adventure which experience does not 
gratify in middle life. She too is likely to be physically at¬ 
tractive, religious by temperament, and will come into fre¬ 
quent contact with him in doing the work of the church. 
But life will have taught her so much that innocence can 
never be affirmed of her relation to the matter any more 
than of his. Of course a younger minister, especially if he 
is unmarried, is not free from danger, but the fact that most 
preachers who fall thus are between thirty-five and fifty 
years old suggests that the middle-aged man should be par¬ 
ticularly on his guard. 

In his relations with women, then, the minister should 
have strict regard for the following considerations: 


MINOR MINISTERIAL ETHICS 


307 


a. Cultivate the habit of a clean imagination. No sin of 
this kind is ever committed without some degree of pre¬ 
meditation. Unclean thinking is always antecedent to 
unclean living. Behavior only reveals what has long been 
hidden in the “chambers of imagery.” 

b. Discipline the physical instincts by vigorous physical 
living. A young man is often in less danger than a middle- 
aged man because he is more active. Blood running fast 
and full of oxygen from exercise makes for pure thinking. 
David was betrayed into his sin with Bathsheba after he 
had given up the active life of camp and field for the passive 
life of court and palace. And many another man has gone 
wrong after he dropped into the sluggish physical habits 
of the forties and fifties. 

c. In the matter of physical contacts , the minister should 
govern himself with the greatest restraint outside his own 
family circle. There is no conceivable emergency that can 
arise in pastoral or social relations which will give any 
warrant for sentimentally putting one’s hand on a woman 
or otherwise coming into close bodily contact. And even to 
take her hand in both one’s own in shaking hands is an ex¬ 
hibition of bad manners that is open to serious criticism. 

d. Let him cherish constantly a sense of his responsibil¬ 
ity for the spiritual and moral well-being of all in the 
community. So he will have a care that none are destroyed 
through his bad example. 

e. Let him be sensible of his own everlasting need of 
divine grace . Let him, like Saint Paul, live in holy fear of 
failing to exemplify in his own life the gospel he preaches 
to others. “I buffet my body, and bring it into bondage: 
lest by any means, after that I have preached to others, I 
myself should be rejected” (1 Cor. 9. 27). 



























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